Stan Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player who is one of the few players who could challenge the Big Three during their prime.

Stan Wawrinka was born on March 28, 1985, in Lausanne, Switzerland. His parents are not tied to any sports background. His father, Wolfram Wawrinka, is a German of Czech ancestry, and his mother, Isabelle, is a Swiss national, and both worked as farmers in Switzerland.

Wawrinka picked up a tennis racket at the age of eight while still in school, and he had his first tennis coach at age 11. His name was Dimitri Zavialoff, a former ATP pro who advised Wawrinka to use a one-handed backhand.

He started playing in junior tennis tournaments on the satellite circuit at 14 (currently called ITF Tour). At the age of 15, Wawrinka switched to distance learning education in order to focus on tennis full-time.

Wawrinka turned professional in 2002, and he had a prolific junior career. He achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 7 and won the Junior Roland Garros title in 2003. Wawrinka made his ATP Tour debut in 2003 in his home country on the clay courts at the Swiss Open in Gstaad.

His first ATP match win came in Amersfoort, where he defeated Hugo Armando in the first round. In his first season on the ATP Tour, Wawrinka finished with a year-end ranking of 169.

Wawrinka made his Grand Slam main draw debut on the senior tour in 2004. He scored a shock win over Nicolas Massu in the first round of Roland Garros and backed up the win by beating James Blake from two sets down in the second round.

His run ended in the third round. Wawrinka won his first ATP title at the Croatia Open in Umag in 2006. He broke the world’s Top 10 for the first time in 2008 after a runner-up finish at the Italian Open.

Wawrinka won an Olympic gold medal that same year in doubles, teaming up with compatriot Roger Federer at the Beijing Olympics to success. In 2014, Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, beating Novak Djokovic (quarterfinal) and Rafael Nadal (final) in the same tournament.

He attained a career-high ranking of World No. 3 at the conclusion of the tournament. Wawrinka ended his wait for a first Masters title in 2014 when he defeated Roger Federer in the Monte-Carlo Masters final.

But they put their rivalry aside at the end of the year to win the Davis Cup for their country. In 2015, Wawrinka added to his Grand Slam collection by winning the French Open, beating Novak Djokovic in four sets in the final.

His third Grand Slam win came the following season, again beating Djokovic at the US Open. Wawrinka is part of a gaudy list of names to have won 550 or more matches on the ATP Tour.