The US Open main draw begins on Sunday, August 30, but that will not include the retiring Stan Wawrinka. The question that might be rightly asked by tennis fans is why. No good answer exists.
Whereas some great players are choosing not to play in singles (Serena Williams would have received a wild card but decided not to participate), Wawrinka wanted to. According to tennis writer Ben Rothenberg, the Swiss player requested a wild card into the US Open, and the major said no.
Maybe the decision-makers in New York regret their decision, but now it's too late. Instead of making the tournament Wawrinka's last major, Wimbledon will be remembered for that. Was Wawrinka likely to win the US Open? No, but that doesn't matter.
The US Open disrespect of Stan Wawrinka is real
Players calling it a career after such a fantastic one should be given the honor of getting a main draw wild card, as they have earned it. Wawrinka could still go through qualifying, but that would be demeaning for him at this point. He is against doing so and has done so at events in 2026, but he shouldn't have to in New York.
He is a three-time major champion, as many Grand Slam titles as Andy Murray earned, and if Murray suddenly wanted to play at the US Open, one could safely assume that the tournament would jump at the chance to give Murray a wild card.
To make matters more confusing, Stan Wawrinka won the US Open in 2016, defeating Novak Djokovic in four sets. The Swiss player also reached the semifinals twice more, and the quarterfinals three other times. It isn't as if the former ATP No. 3 had no success in New York, but even then, as good as his career was, the US Open not giving him a wild card would be weird.
This was Wawrinka's one last chance to say goodbye to New York and tennis Grand Slams forever. What a terrible way to end one's career when they chose at 41 years old to retire from a sport he clearly loves, only to be told foolishly by the USTA that he wasn't invited to the party.
Wawrinka was also left out of the US Open at the same time that fellow Swiss great Roger Federer is being honored with a one-night-only exhibition event on Tuesday, August 25, as part of the lead-up to the event. The whole situation surrounding the disrespect of Stan Wawrinka by the USTA and US Open feels extremely wrong.
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