The three-time Grand Slam champion, Stan Wawrinka, made his 14th and final appearance at his home tournament in Gstaad, which ended in a defeat in ‌front of Swiss fans. The 41-year-old fell to Portugal’s Jaime Faria 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-4 in the first round, which closed out a two-decade relationship with the Swiss Open that began with his tour debut there back in 2003 and once carried him to the final in 2005. 

Tournament organizers marked the occasion with a gift built entirely around Wawrinka’s own history. He was presented with a custom pair of skis, something he joked he was looking forward to using for the first time in 20 years as retirement approached. The skis featured the same bold, geometric print he wore on his shorts during his 2015 Roland Garros title run, one of the most talked-about fashion moments of his career and, by his own admission, the finest tennis he ever played.

Moreover, at Gstaad, the match itself had genuine quality to go with the sentiment. Wawrinka saved three set points to steal the opening tie-break 10-8, only for the 22-year-old Faria, ranked 25 places above him, to steady himself and reel off the next two sets. The Portuguese won 81 percent of his first-serve points and converted both break points he earned, while Wawrinka failed to convert six break point opportunities he had over the course of a 2-hour, 37-minute match. 

Moments after sealing match point with a gripping 10-shot rally, Jaime Faria turned to the crowd and pointed towards Wawrinka, encouraging the Roy Emerson Arena to direct its applause towards the Swiss Star rather than his own win. He followed it up with a heartfelt post on Instagram after the match. “I grew up watching you play! Today I had the pleasure to battle against you Stan the Man,” Faria wrote. “Huge congrats on your career, @stanwawrinka85. Happy to be through to R2 here in Gstaad.”

Faria’s respect for the occasion did not end there. “Sorry to spoil the party,” Faria said afterwards in his on-court interview, praising Wawrinka’s career and calling it an honour to share the court with him.

A farewell season building toward one last emotional stop in Basel

Gstaad marked as only the latest dramatic match he has played in his farewell season. At Wimbledon last month, the Swiss pushed former finalist Matteo Berrettini through four separate tiebreaks across four hours and 20 minutes, a match many considered the standout of the tournament’s opening days before finally falling 6-7(9), 7-6(16), 7-6(7), 7-6(5). He left Centre Court in tears afterwards. 

“I don’t want to retire, but I know it’s time for me to stop,” Wawrinka said. “One of the reasons I kept playing for so long was to enjoy moments like tonight. So much emotion.” Berrettini responded in kind, running after Wawrinka as he left the court to hand him the final towel he had used at Wimbledon as a keepsake, telling him afterwards, “He’s a legend, and he showed it today, an unbelievable player and competitor.”

Stan Wawrinka has announced that the Swiss Indoors in Basel from October 24 to November 1 will be the last tournament of his professional career. Organizers have already started to plan a special farewell on October 26. To celebrate the occasion, long-time friend and Olympic doubles partner Roger Federer has been invited to appear in person to give Wawrinka a fitting send-off. It will be a perfect reunion for the gold medal-winning duo of the Beijing 2008 Games. 

However, between skis in Gstaad, the towel at Wimbledon and Federer reunion on the horizon, Wawrinka’s retirement season has been a celebration of the legacy he has built over the years, rather than a simple series of final matches.