India’s Sumit Nagal has paid tribute to Stan Wawrinka following the three-time Grand Slam champion’s retirement from professional tennis.
Posting on Instagram alongside a photo of the two at Tennis Club Napoli, Nagal wrote: “Grew up watching you. Learnt so much. Was a pleasure to share the court with you. Congratulations on an incredible career 🫡”
Wawrinka’s career ended at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, where the 41-year-old lost to Jiri Lehecka in the first round of his home event. He had announced that 2026 would be his final season on tour.
Nagal and Wawrinka’s only meeting
Nagal and Wawrinka faced each other once on the professional circuit, in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Prague Challenger on outdoor clay. Nagal took the opening set before Wawrinka won 2-6 6-0 6-1.
Wawrinka’s three major titles came between 2014 and 2016, the same period in which Nagal was coming through the junior ranks. Nagal won the Wimbledon boys’ doubles title in 2015, weeks after Wawrinka’s Roland Garros triumph.
Stan Wawrinka’s career
Wawrinka won the Australian Open in 2014, Roland Garros in 2015 and the US Open in 2016, and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 3. He won Olympic doubles gold with Roger Federer at Beijing 2008 and was part of the Switzerland team that won the Davis Cup in 2014.
He stayed competitive on tour into his 40s. According to the ATP, he holds the record for the most tour-level match wins after turning 40.
The article is also saved as Nagal_Wawrinka_article.md. The Basel paragraph comes from published reports of the loss to Lehecka. I left out the score of that match because I didn’t confirm it.