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Swiss veteran tennis star Stan Wawrinka has penned an emotional farewell to the U.S. Open after failing to receive a main-draw wildcard for his final professional season.
Recall that Wawrinka received wildcards for the other three majors earlier in the year (Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon), making the omission at Flushing Meadows the final curtain on his Grand Slam career.
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Wildcards are given to players who did not qualify automatically for the tournament by ranking. Wawrinka has fallen outside the top 100 after struggling with injuries and form in recent years.
Taking to social media, the 2016 U.S. Open champion reflected on his time in New York.
“When I first arrived in New York from a small farming village in Switzerland, everything felt too big. The city. The noise. The energy. The crowds. The lights,” the Swiss wrote on Instagram.
“But, year after year, New York slowly became one of my favourite places in the world.
“This city challenged me. It pushed me. It brought something out of me that few places ever could.
“I experienced some of the strongest emotions of my career here. The battles, the late nights, the incredible atmosphere, the love from the crowd… memories that will stay with me forever.
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“Winning the US Open, in the city that never sleeps, will forever be one of the greatest moments of my life.”
The former world number three won the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open before triumphing at the US Open 10 years ago.
He made 17 appearances in the men’s singles in New York since making his main-draw debut in 2005.
