Stan the Retired Man: three-time major winner Wawrinka ends his career in 1st-round loss

The three-time Grand Slam winner was beaten by eighth-seeded Jiri Lehecka in the first round of the Swiss Indoors, losing 7-5, 7-6 (2).

Stan Wawrinka’s illustrious tennis career finally came to an end on Tuesday at his home tournament in Basel.

Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka returns a shot to Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka during the first round of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament in Basel (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP)

The three-time Grand Slam winner was beaten by eighth-seeded Jiri Lehecka in the first round of the Swiss Indoors, losing 7-5, 7-6 (2).

The 41-year-old Wawrinka’s last shot as a professional tennis player was a backhand that landed wide — to the audible disappointment of the vociferous home crowd.

Wawrinka, who turned pro in 2002, had announced last December that 2026 would be his last year on tour and “Stan the Man” had received warm sendoffs throughout his farewell season.

“For me, all I wanted in my career was to give everything, to have no regrets, to always fight, to always give 100% in every match — out of respect for myself, for the opponent, for the tournament, for the fans, for everybody," Wawrinka told the ATP Tour website ahead of his final match.

“That was always the most important thing for more than 20 years, and that’s the only way you can leave the sport: without any regrets.”

Wawrinka won his three Grand Slam titles after defeating the then-world No. 1 player in each final. He beat Rafael Nadal to win the 2014 Australian Open and downed Novak Djokovic for the French Open title in 2015 and the U.S. Open the following year.

Wawrinka, who reached a career-high world ranking of No. 3 in 2014, won 16 tour-level titles.

He also paired up with Roger Federer in a Switzerland team to win the doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The duo helped Switzerland win its first Davis Cup title in 2014.