The 41-year-old Stan Wawrinka won’t be able to play the US Open one final time. The Swiss had announced last year that he would be retiring after the end of the current season. As his ranking has dropped out of the top 100, he was expected to be handed a wildcard to directly enter the main draw. But after being surprisingly snubbed by the USTA, Wawrinka has now broken his silence on the matter alongside his coach Magnus Norman.

Wawrinka has confirmed that he won’t be present in New York for the Grand Slam. He could have tried to reach the main draw by entering the qualifiers, but he has decided against playing in the tournament in his farewell year. Wawrinka thanked the fans for their unwavering support and also highlighted how much it meant for him to win the competition 10 years ago.

“When I first arrived in New York from a small farming village in Switzerland, everything felt too big,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “The city. The noise. The energy. The crowds. The lights. But year after year New York slowly became one of my favorite places in the world. This city challenged me. It pushed me. It brought something out of me that few places ever could…”

“The battles, the late nights, the incredible atmosphere, the love from the crowd…memories that will stay with me forever. Winning the US Open, in the city that never sleeps, will forever be one of the greatest moments of my life. Thank you, New York. Thank you, @usopen. Thank you to every single fan who supported me, pushed me, believed in me…Forever grateful.”

Norman admitted that it hurts to see Wawrinka not playing at Flushing Meadows in his final year, but he was also thankful to him for providing his team with some amazing moments. Notably, Norman is the same coach who guided Wawrinka to the US Open title in 2016.

“We pushed to play one last Grand Slam at 41 years of age but we just came up short,” he wrote on an Instagram story. “It sure hurts but thanks for all the beautiful memories on and off the court together with you and the team in New York for the last 13 years.”

Wawrinka hasn’t played on the ATP Tour since June. His last appearance came in his home event at Gstaad. Since then, he has only played in Estoril and Cancun, suffering first- and second-round exits in the tournaments, respectively.

Interestingly, he decided to play in Cancun even though he was provided with a wildcard at the Cincinnati Masters. The veteran has skipped the US swing entirely, and it remains to be seen which tournament he plays next. He isn’t known to have any injury, as per his team, but is rather just not playing constantly.

It won’t be wrong to say that the tennis community was left enraged with the USTA for not handing any of the eight wildcards to Wawrinka. Even a prominent tennis insider slammed the tournament for unexpectedly snubbing the Swiss.

Jon Wertheim criticizes the US Open for not handing a wildcard to Stan Wawrinka

Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim questioned why the Grand Slam decided not to hand the wildcard to Wawrinka even though he is considered to be fit.

“Per team, Wawrinka is ‘totally fit’ and ready. And he is only nine spots out of the main draw,” Wertheim said on X. “But – short of something like the entire field going to Taco Bell for all-you-can-eat lettuce between now and next week – the chances are slim…”

Notably, six of the eight wildcards at stake have been handed to American players. The list includes Martin Damm, Michael Zheng, J.J. Wolf, Jack Kennedy, Sebastian Gorzny, and Patrick Kypson. The remaining two wildcards were given to Gael Monfils and Alexei Popyrin.

It’s not a surprise that the US Open decided to favor Americans over Wawrinka for the wildcards. Every Grand Slam is known to favor its countrymen when it comes to wildcards. This is because they not only help bring more attention to the tournament, but also because more viewers generally join in when they get to know their compatriot is playing.

A great example of this was seen at Wimbledon this year, when local hero Arthur Fery suddenly rose to stardom and attracted even more crowds to matches. The local hero and World No. 114 at the time unexpectedly made a run to the semifinals and was cheered hard in every match he played.