Stan Wawrinka, 41, receives U.S. Open wild card

Field Level Media|published: Wed 26th August, 12:38 2026

Sep 2, 2023; Flushing, NY, USA; Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland hits a forehand against Jannik Sinner of Italy (not pictured) on day six of the 2023 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Former champion Stan Wawrinka will compete in the 2026 U.S. Open after all.

One day after issuing an emotional farewell to New York, Wawrinka accepted a wild card into the main draw at Flushing Meadows after Patrick Kypson withdrew due to injury.

"I'm incredibly excited to accept the wild card for the 2026 U.S. Open and look forward to competing in front of the fans in New York once again," Wawrinka said on Wednesday.

Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam winner and 2016 U.S. Open singles champion, announced last December that he is retiring at the end of the season.

The 41-year-old Switzerland native initially was not granted one of the tournament's eight wild cards.

Wawrinka's career-high No. 3 ranking coincided with his first Grand Slam victory, which came in January 2014 when he defeated Rafael Nadal to win the Australian Open.

He also triumphed in majors the next two years, beating Novak Djokovic in both the 2015 French Open and the 2016 U.S. Open. He and Roger Federer won the gold medal in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for Switzerland.

Wawrinka has 16 ATP Tour singles titles and career earnings of $38.6 million. It likely would have been more had his contemporaries not been named Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Andy Murray.

--Field Level Media

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