Stan Wawrinka will probably not play in Geneva this year. image: keystone/x
Double winner at Eaux-Vives (2016 and 2017), the Vaudois will probably not play the Geneva Open this year. He lives a tumultuous story with this event.
Simon Häring / ch media
Although he celebrated his 39th birthday at the end of March, Stan Wawrinka is still the highest ranked Swiss, with 87th place in the world. A situation which, however, has less to do with the Vaudois season than with the insufficient results of Swiss tennis players currently.
Dominic Stricker, eighth finalist at the last US Open last fall, has not played a single match this year. His back injury contracted at the end of November during the Next Gen Masters, which forced him to retire in the semi-final, is more stubborn than we initially thought. The Bernese will certainly miss Roland-Garros (May 26 to June 9). And if he wants to play at Wimbledon, he will have to go through qualifying first. Ranked 88th at the end of the 2023 US Open, Stricker has since fallen to 141st in the world.
A program already very busy
Stan Wawrinka seems to enjoy competing, but he hardly wins anymore. Its outcome in 2024? Seven defeats for two victories. His attempt to accumulate points and confidence during the Challenger tournament in Aix-en-Provence last week failed. The Vaudois lost in the first round, for the sixth time this year.
A return to Geneva would therefore be timely. “Stan The Man” triumphed at Parc des Eaux-Vives in 2016 and 2017, where he also won his last tournament. After several health problems and operations, lifting a new trophy remains the last major mission for the winner of Roland-Garros 2015.
The Geneva Open 2017, last tournament won by Stan Wawrinka. Image: KEYSTONE
But apparently, Wawrinka has given up on the Geneva Open. He is not on the registration list. With his ranking, he would have struggled to find his place in the main draw, but he also did not register for the qualifiers. Three wild cards are still to be awarded, as the organizers told us. The Italian Matteo Berrettini (28 years old, ATP 95), finalist at Wimbledon three years ago, is one of the candidates.
We are still waiting for the first four days of the Masters 1000 in Rome, considered the last big test before Roland-Garros. It is very likely that the top players who were eliminated prematurely there are interested in an experience on Geneva clay. Like for example Alexander Zverev in 2019, who won the tournament with a wild card. Or Grigor Dimitrov last year, finalist at Eaux-Vives. The last wild cards will be awarded on Friday.
Alexander Zverev, winner of the 2019 edition. Image: KEYSTONE
It goes without saying that Stan Wawrinka will receive one of the three wild cards if he wishes to play in Geneva, communicates the Geneva Open. What we don’t know is whether the Vaudois really wants it. On the one hand, his schedule is very busy: Rome this week (finally canceled due to injury), the Challenger tournament in Bordeaux (from May 13) then Roland-Garros from May 26. Adding Geneva would probably be too much for a 39-year-old tennis player.
Relationships tense
On the other hand, the relations between the star and the organizers of the Geneva Open experienced some tensions. After winning the previous two editions of the tournament, Wawrinka played at Eaux-Vives in 2018 without an entry bonus. Beforehand, he had denounced a lack of esteem by declaring:
“From the start, I felt that I was not welcome”
The Lyon tournament, which took place the same week, offered him much more money than the Geneva Open. But if he chose the banks of Lake Geneva, it is only thanks to the fans and the many volunteers. “They have always been fantastic with me,” admitted the Vaudois.
The last time he set foot on Geneva clay was in 2019, with an elimination in the quarter-finals. In 2020, the tournament was canceled due to Covid-19; in 2021 Wawrinka was injured and in 2022 he withdrew just before due to an injury picked up in Rome.
And in 2023? The winner of three Grand Slam titles had other plans. His program had been ready for months and the Geneva Open was never part of it, he then declared to Morning. He had refused the wild card offered by the tournament director, Thierry Grin.
Asked by us to know if he would accept a wild card this year and if discussions were underway, Stan Wawrinka indicated that he did not wish to speak on the subject and that he was concentrating on the tournament. Rome. A few hours later, he withdrew from the Roman meeting. The reason? An injury to the right wrist.
Even without him, the Geneva Open will look good. The Norwegian Casper Ruud (ATP 7), triple Grand Slam finalist and double winner in Geneva (2021 and 2022), is in the running. The three Americans Taylor Fritz (13), Ben Shelton (14) and Tommy Paul (16) will also be there.
