MELBOURNE, Australia—The Australian Open gave Stan Wawrinka an emotional send off, toasting the 2014 champion after his third-round defeat to Taylor Fritz on Saturday.
Wawrinka, who will retire from tennis at the end of 2026, was joined on John Cain Arena by tournament director Craig Tiley and gave the former world No. 3 the microphone to address the crowd on his illustrious career.
“Normally we talk on court after a final,” joked Wawrinka who, at 40 years old, became the oldest man to reach the third round of the Australian Open since Ken Rosewall. “Today is not a final so I’m not going to make it too long.
“First of all, Craig, thank you for the wild card invitation—not the first time for me. It was a lot of emotion when you called me to give me this opportunity to have one last chance to say goodbye to the people here in Melbourne. I would like to say congrats for everything you’ve done for tennis, for the sport, for the players, for the fans. This tournament every year has been improving. It has been amazing. You have an amazing team behind the doors. I would like to say thank you to everybody who makes the players feel so welcome.