One last dance for Stan the Man: Wawrikna prepares for final Australian Open

The Swiss has won three Grand Slams, an Olympic gold medal in men's doubles, as well as a total of 12 match victories against Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer.

However, as his compatriot did in 2022 and the Spaniard did in 2024 â- in early January â- Wawrinka announced that he was hanging up his racket after one final season.

Despite flashes of brilliance, the former world No 3 has failed to meaningfully rise back up the rankings since undergoing two foot surgeries in 2021.

"Yeah, [it was the] end of last year, between October, November, December, that I had things in my mind," commented the former world No 3 during his pre-Australian Open press conference.

"I think during last year I didn't know. Like, I wanted to keep going, that's for sure. I was happy playing. And I'm still [happy playing].

"But, suddenly, at the end of last year, I found out that it was quite clear that next year should be my last year. It was not at all a hard decision. It was quite easy.

"I'm super happy with this decision. I'm at peace with that."

Wawrinka will open up his final Australian Open campaign against Serb Laslo Djere, with the pair having split their previous two meetings.

It was in Melbourne in 2024 where the Swiss collected his first Grand Slam title, beating a slightly hampered Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 with simply blistering groundstrokes.

One year prior, he had lost an epic five-set battle against defending champion Novak Djokovic, before getting revenge en route to his maiden trophy at the event.

Wawrinka has won just one match at the Australian Open since reaching the quarter-finals in 2020, and is on a four-match losing streak.

Despite having made up his mind about his retirement, Wawrinka does not want to go out quietly and aims to show a competitive level throughout the year.

"I'm looking forward to the year," he commented.

"One year of tennis, it's a lot of tennis, it's really long, and [I'm] not getting younger.

"I'm also happy to try to play this year by being still competitive, by playing well.

"I didn't want to not know when I will stop to suddenly get injured or things like that or lose the level of the game.

"I'm still passionate about the game. I'm still fully focused on it. That's [how] I felt it was the right way."

The former world No 3 put on an impressive display of tennis at the United Cup, despite losing all three singles matches.

Wawrinka was involved in a tight 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 battle against Hubert Hurkacz in the event's final, showing that he can still compete against the world's best on the biggest stages.

It was Poland who triumphed over Switzerland at the United Cup, winning the overall tie 2-1.

"The United Cup was an amazing event to play. Belinda [Bencic] was unbelievable, we had a great team, and it was really good for us to make the final," Wawrinka said after landing in Melbourne.

"We love to win, but we had so much fun there. Tennis-wise, I'm super happy. It's been going well - good preparation, a good off-season, working hard to keep the level up - and I'm looking forward to starting here."

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