Serena Williams returned to singles at Wimbledon on Tuesday, and she struggled through a brutal three-set loss to Maya Joint. She wasn't the only legend to make an impact on the grass-court Grand Slam in the first round, though. Three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka did too.
The difference is that, when healthy, Wawrinka hasn't stopped playing tennis. Is he anywhere close to how good he was in the mid-2010s? No, but are any of us?
The Swiss player made it known that 2026 would be his final year on the ATP tour. Every tournament he played would be the last time he ever played it. Such was the case with Wimbledon, when he had to play another fan-favorite, Matteo Berrettini, in the first round.
Stan Wawrinka's Wimbledon final was too overshadowed by Serena Williams' return
Wawrinka played well, as did Berrettini, and whoever won the match was going to go home a loser of what-ifs. Each set was won or lost on a few points, and the complicated issue for fans was whether to root for the Swiss player or the beloved Italian. In the end, the answer was both.
Wawrinka took set one 7-6(7), but Berrettini won the next three 7-6(16), 7-6(7), 7-6)5). Wawrinka was so close to moving into the second round and potentially having a Wimbledon dream run that the loss was made that much more difficult. That was the case for him, tennis fans, and his good friend, Berrettini.
The truth is, Stan Wawrinka's last match at Wimbledon should not be overpowered by the return of Serena Williams. Williams did win 23 major titles, but Wawrinka's run of greatness has always been overshadowed by the length of excellence of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
Heck, even Andy Murray, the current coach of Jack Draper, overpowered what Wawrinka was capable of at majors. Murray won three Grand Slams and reached No. 1. Wawrinka never did the latter, but he matched the former.
Instead of taking two different Grand Slam events as Murray did (winning Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016 and the US Open in 2012), Wawrinka won all his majors at different events: the 2014 Australian Open when he defeated Rafael Nadal, the 2015 French Open when he beat Novak Djokovic, and the 2016 US Open when he defeated Djokovic again.
Stan Wawrinka should be remembered as the fifth greatest player of his generation, but will likely be forgotten well before Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, and Murray. To make matters worse, even his end at Wimbledon was overshadowed by Serena Williams.
