Stan Wawrinka

Stanislas Wawrinka is one of the most popular players in tennis, both for his one-handed backhand, which was considered the best in the world in the 2010s, and for his exceptional record containing three Grand Slam victories, acquired at the peak of the careers of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Wawrinka, a self-proclaimed needy man, exploded onto the scene at the age of 29, winning the 2014 Australian Open. His coach, Swedish Magnus Norman, convinced him he could beat anyone and Patrick Mouratoglou often cites him as one of the tennis coaches capable of changing the life of one of their players. Mouratoglou has also ranked Wawrinka, nicknamed Stan the Man, as having the best one-handed backhand of all time ahead of Roger Federer, Richard Gasquet, Gaston Gaudio and Gustavo Kuerten.

Wawrinka is also “an enormous fighter”, according to Patrick Mouratoglou. “In Grand Slams, Stan often manages to get into the zone and play some absolutely fabulous tennis. We know that in those matches he’s capable of beating all the best players in the world (…) He’s an extraordinary matcheur in the big moments. (…) We saw him against Novak Djokovic in the Grand Slam. (…) He likes to point to his temple with his index finger, it’s his trademark, as if to say ‘look how strong my head is’. Great matches are played in the head, that’s clear, and he has this ability to play very well in the important moments.

Wawrinka was also decisive in winning the only Davis Cup in the history of Swiss tennis, in 2014, alongside his rival and partner Roger Federer.

Junior career: A workaholic and a Grand Slam title

From an early age, Stan Wawrinka was not the most gifted player of his generation. He remained in the shadow of a certain Roger Federer, four years his senior. But by dint of hard work, at the dawn of his seventeenth year, he had become Switzerland’s number one player under the age of eighteen. He even won the French Open that same year in 2003, showing his talent despite not being the best of his generation.

ATP career: the beginnings of a late explosion

After arriving on the professional circuit in 2002, Stan Wawrinka quickly demonstrated his talent and capacity for hard work, reaching the Top 50 in 2005 and the Top 10 in 2008. Throughout his career, he remained in the shadow of Roger Federer until the famous arrival of Magnus Norman on his staff enabled him to take that final step that would transform him into “Stan: The Man”. This explosion saw him finish five years in a row in the Top 10 from 2013 to 2018.

ATP honours list: 16 titles, 15 finals

With 16 titles to his name, including three Grand Slam titles, Stan Wawrinka has enjoyed a very successful career. Winner of the Australian Open (2014), Roland Garros (2015) and US Open (2016), he also won the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 in 2014. He has also lost fifteen finals, including the French Open in 2016.

Stan Wawrinka is the father of a little girl named Alexia, and a fan of the Lausanne Hockey Club ice hockey team. He also starred in the film Maison de Retraite, produced by his friend and comedian Kev Adams in 2022. That same year, he also appeared in the series Le Flambeau.