End of the road for Wawrinka as Lehecka beats the Swiss great in his final match in Basel

Stan Wawrinka played his last point as a professional on his own serve, at 2-6 in a second-set tiebreak, with the Basel crowd still urging him on. Jiri Lehecka won it. The Czech, seed No. 8, beat the 41-year-old Swiss 7-5, 7-6 (2) in the first round of the Swiss Indoors Basel on Tuesday, ending a career that spanned 24 years on the tour, from 2002 to 2026.

Wawrinka leaves after 390 tour-level events with a record of 590 wins and 395 defeats, 985 matches in all including Grand Slams and the Davis Cup. The former world No. 3 won 16 titles, among them three Grand Slams: the 2014 Australian Open, 2015 Roland-Garros and the 2016 US Open. He also won Olympic doubles gold with Roger Federer in Beijing in 2008 and helped Switzerland lift the Davis Cup in 2014.

The player considered by Djokovic as one of the most underrated ever had his chance in the opening set. In the sixth game, Wawrinka earned two break points on Lehecka’s serve, but the Czech saved both and held. Serving at 5-5, the Swiss fell behind 0-40 and was broken, and Lehecka served out the set to love.

Wawrinka kept fighting. He saved two break points in the opening game of the second set and did not face another one, holding all the way to 6-6. In the tiebreak, Lehecka won the last five points from 2-2 and converted his first match point.

Difficult 2026 season

Playing on a wildcard, Wawrinka had been honored by the tournament in an emotional ceremony on Monday. This was his 19th main draw appearance in Basel, tying Federer’s tournament record. He first played the main draw in 2003 and reached the semifinals in 2006 and 2011, and he finishes with a 17-18 record at his home event.

His final season had started well, with a run to the third round of the Australian Open, before turning difficult once the clay swing began. Since early March, he had won only two matches on the ATP Tour: in Geneva just before Roland-Garros, and last week in Lyon against world No. 67 Martin Landaluce.

That win in Lyon was his 12th at tour level since turning 40, the most by any player since the ATP Tour was created in 1990, ahead of Ivo Karlovic (9) and Jimmy Connors (8). At 41 years and six months, it also made Wawrinka the fourth-oldest player to win an ATP Tour match in that period.

Lehecka, ranked No. 21, picked up his first win in Basel at the third attempt. The 24-year-old had lost in the first round in 2024 to Pedro Martinez and in 2025 to Botic van de Zandschulp, both times 6-2, 6-2.

Basel ATP 500? 1st round

B. Shelton [1] d. A. Kovacevic (LL): 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-6(4)
J. Kym (WC) d. A. Rinderknech: 7-6(1), 6-4
D. Altmaier (LL) d. J.M. Cerundolo (Q): 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4
J. Lehecka [8] d. S. Wawrinka (WC): 7-6(2), 7-5
N. Djokovic 4 vs U. Humbert – not played
Y. Hanfmann (Q) vs J.L. Struff (SE) – not played
N. Borges d. M. Brunold (LL): 6-3, 6-1
C. Ruud [9] d. D. Stricker (WC): 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
H. Hurkacz [10] d. Z. Bergs: 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
H. Rune d. Q. Halys: 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4
V. Vacherot d. M. Navone: 7-6(4), 6-3
R. Jodar [3] d. A. Tabilo: 6-4, 6-2
T. Fritz [6] vs R. Hijikata (LL) – not played
R. Bertola (Q) vs D. Shapovalov – not played
A. Michelsen d. B. van de Zandschulp: 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
A. Fils [2] d. G. Mpetshi Perricard (Q): 7-6(5), 7-5