De Jong ends Wawrinka’s emotional Roland-Garros farewell on Court Simonne-Mathieu
Jesper de Jong ended Stan Wawrinka’s Roland-Garros story on Court Simonne-Mathieu (6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4). The 41-year-old Swiss, playing the tournament for the 21st and final time, was honoured afterwards in a video tribute.
Stanislas Wawrinka, Roland-Garros 2026 | © Thibault Camus / SIPA
Jesper de Jong, the Dutch lucky loser who took his place in the draw on Saturday when Arthur Fils withdrew, ended Stan Wawrinka’s 21-year Roland-Garros story on Court Simonne-Mathieu on Monday afternoon, beating the 2015 champion 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.
The 41-year-old Swiss, who announced in December that 2026 would be his last season on tour, was playing his final match at the tournament he had won in his career-defining 2015 victory over Novak Djokovic.
The crowd on Simonne-Mathieu were behind him from the first ball, and there were moments – most of all when he took the second set – when the court rose to its feet in the kind of standing ovation that has greeted him through his farewell year. It was not enough.
De Jong, the world No. 106, broke decisively in the third and fourth sets to bring the curtain down on Wawrinka’s 21st Roland-Garros, where his career record finishes at 46-20. He has played his 66th main draw match at Roland Garros – the sixth-most in the Open Era in Men’s Singles, less only than Djokovic (119), Nadal (116), Federer (90), Vilas (74) and Agassi (67).
De Jong will face Italian qualifier Federico Cinà, the 19-year-old who came through Reilly Opelka in five sets on Sunday, in the second round.
