Stan Wawrinka continues to impress on the ATP Tour at the age of 40, making history after winning his first match in Dubai.
Playing in his final season in professional tennis before retiring, Wawrinka defeated Benjamin Hassan 7-5, 6-3 at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The three-time Grand Slam champion is already playing his fifth tournament of the season, having started out representing Switzerland at the United Cup.
ATP legend Wawrinka is now focused on success in Dubai, where he has just broken not one but two tennis records.
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Stan Wawrinka makes tennis history after opening Dubai win
After beating Hassan in the round of 32, Wawrinka has become the oldest man to win a main draw match in Dubai tournament history.
More impressively, he has now improved to 10 tour-level wins since turning 40, which is the most by any player in that age group in the Open Era.
Currently ranked 99th in the world, the Swiss veteran boasts 16 ATP titles, last triumphing in Geneva in 2017.
Three of his titles arrived at Grand Slam level, when he won the Australian Open, French Open and US Open in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.
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While it will be very difficult to achieve, Wawrinka simply cannot be ruled out of clinching the title in Dubai this week.
He’s proven time and again that he wants to go out with a bang, highlighted by his mammoth efforts at the 2026 United Cup.
The 40-year-old played a crucial role as Switzerland reached the final in Australia, where they lost out to Poland.
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He reached the third round of the Australian Open shortly after, where iconic figure Wawrinka lost to Taylor Fritz.
Round of 16 exits in Montpellier and Rotterdam have followed, but notably he only lost to top seeds Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur respectively.
Moreover, they went on to lift the trophies after knocking out Wawrinka, who has been a stubborn opponent this season despite his age.
| Year | Titles | Tournaments |
| 2017 | 1 | Geneva (Outdoor/Clay) |
| 2016 | 4 | US Open (Outdoor/Hard) Geneva (Outdoor/Clay) Dubai (Outdoor/Hard) Chennai (Outdoor/Hard) |
| 2015 | 4 | Tokyo (Outdoor/Hard) Roland Garros (Outdoor/Clay) Rotterdam (Indoor/Hard) Chennai (Outdoor/Hard) |
| 2014 | 3 | ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo (Outdoor/Clay) Australian Open (Outdoor/Hard) Chennai (Outdoor/Hard) |
| 2013 | 1 | Oeiras (Outdoor/Clay) |
| 2011 | 1 | Chennai (Outdoor/Hard) |
| 2010 | 1 | Casablanca (Outdoor/Clay) |
| 2006 | 1 | Umag (Outdoor/Clay) |
He could face Auger-Aliassime once again in the semifinals in Dubai, but first up is a round of 16 clash with Daniil Medvedev.
The experienced duo have met five times throughout their fantastic careers, from which Medvedev boasts a 3-2 win-loss record.
The ATP 500 tournament comprises a high-quality field filled with exciting young players, but Wawrinka remains an opponent that most will want to avoid, particularly early on.
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