Stan Wawrinka

Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka is a professional tennis player from Switzerland, and a multiple Grand Slam singles winner.

📜 Stan Wawrinka History

Stanislas Wawrinka was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1985, and began playing tennis aged 8. Wawrinka turned professional 11 years later, and by the end of 2003 he was ranked inside the 170 ATP singles players in the world. The Swiss made his Grand Slam debut in 2005, at Roland-Garros, where he made it to the third round.

Wawrinka's first ATP singles title came in 2006, when he won the Croatia Open after Novak Djokovic retired in the final. His maiden title helped propel him inside the ATP singles top-30 for the first time, and his progress continued the following year, when he reached the fourth round of the 2007 US Open - a then-Grand Slam best for the up-and-coming player.

Despite his improved ranking and solid Grand Slam performances, however, Wawrinka struggled to win singles titles in his early years, only securing a total of 3 trophies between 2010 and 2013. Several near misses and an ATP Finals appearance in 2013 ensured the Swiss was an established top-10 player by 2014, though, and it was only a matter of time before he accrued more singles titles. In 2014, Wawrinka began the season by winning the Australian Open, beating Novak Djokovic, Tomáš Berdych, and Rafael Nadal on his way to his maiden Grand Slam title. With his win in Melbourne, Wawrinka became a top-5 singles player for the first time. Wawrinka backed-up his Grand Slam success with a win at the Monte-Carlo Masters just months later, vanquishing countryman Roger Federer in the final.

In 2015, Wawrinka continued his good form, winning the Roland-Garros singles title, this time with a win over Djokovic in the final, as well as collecting a trio of additional singles titles. Wawrinka also reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the second time in 2 years, to date his best-ever finish at the Grand Slam, and also reached the semifinals of the ATP Finals for the third time in a row.

The 2016 season brough another quartet of titles, and again included a Grand Slam success, this time at the US Open. With his win in New York, Wawrinka had won 3 different Grand Slams in 3 years. In 2017 Wawrinka reached his second Roland-Garros final, but was beaten by Rafael Nadal in straight sets. More recently, Wawrinka has struggled with injuries, and has been repeatedly in and out of the ATP top-100 since 2018.

In terms of playing style, Stan Wawrinka is best known for his one-handed backhand, which is not only devastatingly effective on-court, but also stylistically unique. He predominantly plays from the baseline, and possesses a powerful game which, when coupled with his strong serve, helps him dominate points. Wawrinka is also known for his big-game mentality and determination, which contributed to several high-profile wins over top-5 players between 2014 and 2016; in all 3 of his Grand Slam final meetings with number 1 players, Wawrinka prevailed.