The U.S. Open had initially snubbed three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka of a Wildcard entry to the 2026 tournament in his last season before retirement. The Wildcard went to several younger tennis players instead, which drew a ton of backlash from tennis fans, but now the tide has finally turned.

On August 26, 2026, the U.S. Open finally gave Stan Wawrinka a singles main draw wildcard after the previous recipient, Patrick Kypson, exited due to an injury. It was a long-awaited moment for fans and professionals alike, and an 18-Grand-Slam-winning legend, Martina Navratilova, was one of the people waiting.

“Well hallelujah!!! Should have gotten it in the first place,” Navratilova wrote in her post, soon after the U.S. Open announced Wawrinka’s surprise Wildcard invite, despite its poor timing.
Furthermore, Navratilova wasn’t the only tennis legend to weigh in.

Chris Evert also appeared to celebrate the decision, writing simply, “order has been restored…” on X.

Resharing Christopher Clarey’s assessment that it was “Much better late than never” for the former U.S. Open champion to receive his “much deserved wild card,” Boris Becker had a similar reaction. On his X account, he called the wildcard “Well deserved!” and said he believed “the whole tennis community” was happy to see Wawrinka receive the spot for his final Grand Slam.

The sentiment isn’t uncommon among fans of Wawrinka and the sport as a whole. On December 19, 2025, Wawrinka had announced that 2026 would be his very last season as a professional tennis player. By this time, he had already accumulated 16 ATP singles titles. Not to forget his incredible three Grand Slam trophies, including one at the 2016 U.S. Open after he defeated yet another legend, Novak Djokovic.

Naturally, once his retirement was announced, fans expected to see him play in New York one last time after he had taken home the trophy a decade earlier. However, the U.S. Open’s decision not to grant him a Wildcard disappointed everyone. On August 26, he took to social media once again to respond to the invite.

“I’m incredibly excited to accept the wild card for the 2026 US Open and look forward to competing in front of the fans in New York again,” he wrote in a post collaborating with the U.S. Open. Notably, there is more to Wawrinka’s connection with Flushing Meadows than the 2016 title alone.

He owns a 46-16 record at the U.S. Open, making it statistically his strongest Grand Slam by winning percentage, and his run to the 2016 title remains the last of his three major triumphs. He has also reached at least the quarterfinals in six of his previous appearances at the tournament. His 2016 triumph marked the culmination of a remarkable Grand Slam pattern.

Wawrinka defeated a member of the sport’s Big Three in the final of each of his three major victories: Rafael Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open and Novak Djokovic at both the 2015 French Open and 2016 U.S. Open. He also won Olympic men’s doubles gold with Roger Federer at the 2008 Beijing Games.

That history made the initial omission particularly striking, but Wawrinka had already experienced the U.S. Open’s generosity in his later years. He received a wildcard for the 2024 tournament, his most recent appearance in New York, but lost in the opening round to Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci. He did not receive a wildcard for the 2025 edition.

Finally, the prayers of many fans have been answered. Of course, the decision came after much backlash and one injury, which ultimately pushed Kypson out of the tournament. Before the news broke, even Wawrinka had given up, bidding adieu to the U.S. Open and the city of New York in a heartfelt post earlier this week.

“Thank you to every single fan who supported me, pushed me, believed in me and shared all these emotions with me over the years,” he wrote in a farewell message on Instagram. “Forever grateful. Forever New York.”

Wawrinka’s farewell was not just about the tournament itself. He recalled arriving in New York from a small farming village in Switzerland and described how the city’s noise, lights, crowds, and energy eventually made it one of his favorite places in the world. He also pointed back to winning the 2016 title as one of the greatest moments of his life.

In the post’s comment section, one can still see many upset fans discussing the Wildcard situation, which is a testament to the community’s passion. It’s unknown whether or not the backlash had some impact on the decision to bring him to New York. However, it clearly shows where the fan sentiment lies with one of the sport’s most important cultural icons.

The key distinction, however, is that the U.S. Open’s confirmed reason for Wawrinka’s late entry was Kypson’s withdrawal, which opened the final wildcard. Whether the earlier public reaction played any role beyond that remains unknown.

Wawrinka’s last match will likely draw global attention after a career that spans over two decades. The 41-year-old Swiss will now make his final competitive appearance at the tournament where he produced the last and perhaps most defining chapter of his Grand Slam career. Regardless of his performance, the 2026 U.S. Open will be his last one as a professional tennis player.

For a player whose New York story began long before that 2016 trophy and includes a 46-16 record at the event, this wildcard gives Wawrinka the farewell he thought he had already lost.