Stan Wawarinka is saying goodbye to the U.S. Open with his head held high.
The 2016 U.S. Open champion shared an emotional farewell message on Instagram to the year’s final Grand Slam on Tuesday after the 41-year-old did not receive a wild card for the hard-court tournament in what is his final year on tour.
“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💥,” he wrote as the caption. “But year after year New York slowly became one of my favorite 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 🙏🏻💭🗽
“Winning the US Open,in the city that never sleeps,will forever be one of the greatest moments of my life 🏆🌇 Thank you, New York🗽Thank you, @usopen 🎾 Thank you to every single fan who supported me, pushed me, believed in me and shared all these emotions with me over the years🙏🏻🫶🏻 Forever grateful. Forever New York🗽”
In the post, Wawrinka shared a carousel of photos that highlighted various memorable moments from his time in Queens, including battles against Roger Federer and his U.S. Open win over a 29-year-old Novak Djokovic on Arthur Ashe.
He also included a photo of him holding his U.S. Open trophy with the Empire State Building as the backdrop.
Wawrinka took home a Grand Slam in three consecutive years — the Australian Open in 2014, French Open in 2015 and U.S. Open in 2016.
With that résumé, it seemed strange he wasn’t given a wild card for what would have been his final Grand Slam.
Fan favorite Gael Monfils, who is also in his final year, was awarded a wild card. However, the 39-year-old does not hold a Grand Slam title to his name.
Wawrinka is also ranked 125th, while Monfils is 305th. Wawrinka is far closer to the top 100, which are automatically given entry into the main draw.
The Swiss nearly completed the career Grand Slam when he reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2015.
The goodbyes have been ongoing for Wawrinka this season.
The tears came down after he lost a first-round Wimbledon match against Matteo Berrettini in four wild sets that each included a tiebreaker.
Fans could see the emotion on Wawrinka’s face as he waved goodbye and thanked the Wimbledon crowd as he left the grass court.
