Stan Wawrinka almost did not get the goodbye he wanted. The Swiss veteran had been left out of the US Open singles draw when the tournament’s wildcards were first announced, and only made it into the field after American Patrick Kypson withdrew injured, opening the door for the man who had lifted the trophy on the same court a decade earlier.

Matteo Berrettini closed that door 7-6(4), 7-6(3), 6-0 on Monday night. Before Wawrinka left, though, the Italian led the applause and stayed on court for a short farewell that included a video montage of the 2016 US Open triumph over Novak Djokovic.

“It’s been 20 years since the first time I came here. It was amazing for me to feel the New York vibes throughout the years. I found the way to play my best tennis here,” Wawrinka told the crowd.

The wildcard he almost did not get

Wawrinka, currently ranked 127 in the world, needed the invitation to play at all. He is a three-time Grand Slam champion, having won the Australian Open in 2014, Roland Garros in 2015 and the US Open in 2016, and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 3, one of the few players of his generation to break through the era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic to lift majors.

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The match itself had a competitive shell. Wawrinka held a set point in the first set and three more in the second before Berrettini pushed both into tiebreaks and took them. The third set lasted just a handful of games. The whole contest ran to 2 hours 15 minutes.

A speech and a montage from 2016

Then came the moment the evening had been building towards.

“One of the reasons I played until 41 was to live these moments. I’m very grateful for this wildcard. It was very important for me to finish here, where I won a Grand Slam 10 years ago. I want to thank you all for all these years,” Wawrinka said.

A Yahoo Sports column framed the farewell as the closing of one of the era’s most distinctive careers, describing Wawrinka as one of the few players who “crashed the party” of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic to actually win major finals against them.

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Retiring at the end of the season

“I’m going to miss it for sure,” Wawrinka told the New York crowd. He has said he will play out the rest of the 2026 season before retiring, but Monday’s defeat in Flushing Meadows was his final Grand Slam match.

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