Stan Wawrinka is out of another tournament, this time failing to make it past the first round of Roland Garros after being gifted a wildcard entry.
A former winner of this event, he has enjoyed some of the greatest moments of his career in the French capital.
However, it’s fair to say that those times are well behind him now.
In fact, the three-time Grand Slam champion is actually enduring a really torrid run of losses at the ATP 250 level and above that stretches back to early April.
Naturally, with that in mind, the retirement question had to crop up eventually.
Stan Wawrinka outlines potential retirement plan
Slumping into his post-match press conference following a straight-sets first-round defeat, naturally, Wawrinka cut a downbeat figure.
After all, he remains so passionate and desperate to win despite his age, making the frequent losses all the more crushing.
Asked the question that was on everyone’s lips following another loss and another early exit from a Grand Slam, the Swiss superstar provided an update on his retirement plans.
He stated: ‘I am here in front of you after losing first round of the French Open, but yeah I am of course close to the end. I’m not stopping right now, that’s for sure. I’m getting closer each week that’s for sure.
‘In general, I think I still play some good tennis, move well, I still enjoy it. Although, those losses are getting more difficult to swallow. It’s all about the balance with all the sacrifice and everything you’re doing in one side to be at that level, you need to kind of have some wins on the other side. So far I’m not getting too many wins.
‘We’ll see what’s going to come in the next few weeks.’
Wawrinka admitted to living the dream as he sought to continue playing into 2025. It’s fair to say that since then, his results have been rather nightmarish.
Stan Wawrinka’s miserable 2025 continues
Wawrinka turned 40 this year, so his sharp decline cannot have come as a surprise. A sad eventuality, yes, but his powers had quite clearly been waning for some time.
The sheer fact that he is still able to compete with most on the tour is admirable alone, but it’s impossible to hide from the facts.
He is losing so many games.
Still a threat in challenger events, whenever he has stepped up to ATP tournaments, it has not gone well for him.
Wawrinka has now lost in the first round of seven of the eight ATP competitions he has entered including the French Open, with that sole other tournament seeing him knocked out in the second round instead.
It has been a miserable 2025 in terms of results, and one that fans will struggle to see. Hopefully, before he does call time on his career, the legendary veteran can snag a few more victories to buoy a tough year.
