I Hope to Play a Bit in 2026 – Tennis Now
By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, October 20, 2025
Photo credit: Matthew Calvis
It’s homecoming week for Stan Wawrinka in Basel.
Playing the Swiss Indoors Basel on a wild card this week, Wawrinka says he’s not considering closing the curtain on his glorious career and heading home.
The 40-year-old Wawrinka, who has posted a 2-11 record in 2025, said plans to play Athens next month and said he hopes to play a bit in 2026 as well.
“I said above all that you will see when I decide to stop. We’ll see if there’s a next season, we’ll already finish this one,” Wawrinka told Swiss publication Le Matin in his Basel presser. “I live in the present, I try to make the most of it.
“I know that the end is very close, we all have a deadline and at some point, we will have to put away the racquets. I am pleased to be here in Basel and I will take stock after Athens. But yes, I hope to play a little more next year.”
The man nicknamed Stanimal, now ranked No. 158, is one of only three men in history to defeat Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal in Grand Slam play, joining Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych in achieving that awesome feat.
Former world No. 3 Wawrinka has previously said he’d like to win one more title—he won his last title before home fans at the 2017 Geneva and played his last Tour-level final at the 2023 Umag—and with 580 career victories to his credit, he’s 20 wins short of a 600th career win.
The three-time Grand Slam champion said pure passion for playing is the driving force in his career which began back in 2002.
“I enjoy what I am doing and enjoy waking up and going to practice and still have the chance to play at such a nice tournament like here,” Wawrinka said. “As long as I am enjoying that, I am going to keep pushing a little bit.
“I think it is amazing to be a tennis player and when I was a kid, I dreamed of doing that as a job. I have had the chance to win many trophies, even many big trophies and I had the chance to achieve more of what I call my dream. I will keep pushing.”
