Stan Wawrinka becomes fifth man in Open Era to win a match in 23 different seasons

Stan Wawrinka made a winning start to his farewell season at United Cup in Perth on Saturday, grinding past Arthur Rinderknech, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), after three hours and 18 minutes on court.

And it was a notable win for a few reasons.

First of all, it clinched the tie for Switzerland over France, 2-0, after Belinda Bencic beat Leolia Jeanjean in the first match, 6-2, 6-4.

But more personally for Wawrinka, he now adds his name to a very impressive list—he’s now just the fifth man in the entire Open Era to win a tour-level match in 23 different seasons.

MOST SEASONS WITH A TOUR-LEVEL WIN (men, Open Era):

• 25: Jimmy Connors [1970-1989, 1991-1995]
• 24: Roger Federer [1998-2021]
• 24: Richard Gasquet [2002-2025]
• 23: Rafael Nadal [2002-2024]
• 23: Stan Wawrinka [2003, 2005-2026]

Four more men are tied at 22, and two of them—Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils—would join the list with their first win of 2026. The other two, Guillermo Vilas and Feliciano Lopez, are retired.

Wawrinka’s victory over the No. 29-ranked Rinderknech was also his first Top 30 win in more than eight months, since beating a No. 26-ranked Alexei Popyrin at a Challenger event last May.

And he had to survive several brushes with defeat to do it.

In the second set, he not only served to stay in the match twice, at 4-5 and 5-6, but he was also two points away from losing at 5-all in the tie-break. Then in the third set, not only was he down an early break at 2-1, but after getting back on serve, he eventually found himself down 4-2 in the third set tie-break—he was even two points away from losing again at 5-all in the breaker.

But one last mini-break on the next point is all it took to bring up his first match point, and he closed it out right then and there when one last Rinderknech forehand clipped the net.

“Twenty years on tour, you kind of always play the same places and tournaments, so for me it’s amazing to have this opportunity to play this year here in Perth for the first time,” he said afterwards.

“It’s amazing to play with a team tournament with the women, too. Today was tough but I’m really happy to start that way.”

Switzerland ended up sweeping France, 3-0, after Bencic and Jakub Paul outdid Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the mixed doubles, 6-2, 5-7, 10-2.

The Swiss team will be back on Sunday night to play the Italian team, led by Jasmine Paolini and Flavio Cobolli, with three-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori waiting in the wings should it go to a decider.