Merci, Stan – thank you

ATP Tour 500 – EUR 2.584 million – 24 October to 1 November 2026

Stan Wawrinka played his last match as a professional tennis player at Swiss Indoors Basel on Tuesday evening. The 9,200 spectators on Center Court were already standing when he entered the hall. They would rise to their feet many more times before the night was out.

That backhand, one last time
Most of them had come for this one shot. Whenever Wawrinka wound up for a one-handed backhand and sent the ball screaming down the line, a murmur rippled through the hall. It’s the shot that won him three Grand Slam titles: 2014 in Melbourne, 2015 in Paris and 2016 in New York. It was on display once again in Basel, with the same force and the same natural ease as in his prime.

A crowd in the zone
At 3–2 in the first set, the DJ played ‘Felicità’. At 5–4 in the second set, a wave went round the stands, and Wawrinka was two points away from pulling level at one set apiece. St. Jakobshalle willed him on through the rallies. But Jiri Lehecka kept his nerve and prevailed 7–5, 7–6 (7–2). A minor matter on the night.

Merci Stan
At 11:01 pm, after 985 matches on the ATP Tour, a great career came to an end. A chorus of ‘Merci, Stan’ rang out from the stands. On his way off the court, as Wawrinka high-fived the ball kids, the hall gave him one last standing ovation. Swiss Indoors would like to say thank you for 19 appearances in Basel, for three Grand Slam titles celebrated by an entire country and for a backhand that will not soon be forgotten.

Get your tickets now!
Tickets can be purchased on the Swiss Indoors and Ticketcorner websites.