Will next week mark the final time Stan Wawrinka appears at the US Open? Or at any Grand Slam, period? In answering that question in the lead-up to the final major of 2024, Wawrinka went the obvious route.
“Every year is one more time,” Wawrinka said during his pre-tournament media session on Saturday.
There is no doubt the now 39-year-old and future Hall-of-Famer has left an indelible mark on the game, doing so in an era where the hegemony of the Big Three made it nigh impossible for any professional not named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic to come anywhere close to sniffing Grand Slam glory for two decades. Now in the autumn of his career, getting ready to participate in his 17th US Open, the Swiss—whenever he hangs up his tennis shoes—also made a generational impact in one other way.
It started with one point. A finger point, to be exact.
It was 10 years ago, in Melbourne, when Wawrinka’s now-iconic gesture of pointing to his temple after winning big points first hit the mainstream. The Swiss first broke out the move during a five-set win against Djokovic in the 2014 Australian Open quarterfinals. For Wawrinka, the point was a not-so-subtle reminder to himself and to his team that he was ready to do what was needed, and lock in for as long as possible, to fight to victory when things were at their toughest. Two matches after the triumph over the Serb, Wawrinka won his first major, defeating Nadal in the final.
A decade on and Wawrinka’s on-court gesticulation has taken on cult status, as a number of tennis players from all different levels have mimicked the gesture. It’s something that the three-time Grand Slam winner and Olympic gold medalist appreciates.
“I enjoy it for sure to see different players doing that,” Wawrinka said to USOpen.org. “I think in tennis, you need to play well, you need to be ready physically. But the mental part [needs to be] really high, especially at that level. We all play well, we all move well, but mentally you need to find your own confidence to get to that point and the mind can play different games with yourself. It’s always important to be locked in and to be ready mentally.”
His improved mentality was on display in 2016 in New York as well, when he defeated 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals before taking out Kei Nishikori in the semifinals and, finally, outlasting Djokovic in the championship match after going down a set. (Wawrinka also came back from a set down to beat Djokovic in the 2015 Roland Garros final.) As always, his elegant-yet-lethal one-handed backhand sent oohs and aahs throughout Arthur Ashe Stadium. And, as Wawrinka looked back at that run, it was his mental toughness that allowed him to grind through tough opponents—and just-as-tough weather conditions, particularly the NYC humidity—to capture the title and the hearts of the New York faithful.
“The two weeks in 2016 were really special. I was on the top of my game,” Wawrinka said. “I always enjoy coming back to New York. I have a lot of friends here. I love the city. It’s one of my favorite cities, especially at that time of the year. There’s so much energy in this tournament. There’s so [many] people coming, so much support. I remember it was a tough last four days in 2016, physically. Tennis-wise, it was really difficult to fight through but it was an amazing feeling to lift the trophy.”
Though it would be understandable to remember those past successes as his career winds down, Wawrinka’s main focus is on the here and now, and despite the injuries—and the subsequent drop in rankings that led him to needing a wild card to play in this year’s US Open—Wawrinka’s drive to be a top-level tennis player remains high.
“I try to really enjoy what’s happening, fight hard and be in the moment. I’ll always have good feelings and enjoy those [Grand Slam] wins at that time,” Wawrinka said. “I’m not someone who’ll think too much about the future or look too much in the past, especially while I’m still playing.
“For me, it’s important to be in the moment where you are right now and trying to keep improving, trying to push yourself. I did enjoy [it] enough when I won those tournaments, but it’s also something that I don’t look back on too much because that’s not the time. Maybe the day when I will be retired I will have time to think about what I achieved. But right now I still want to be competitive on court and I want to focus on where I am right now.”
Whether that time to look back on his career is after the end of this tournament, the end of this season, or beyond, Wawrinka’s place as one of the game’s greats—and his impact on future generations of tennis fans—is without doubt.
Point made.
