Wawrinka's US Open Farewell: The One-Handed Backhand and a Diminishing Legacy

New York, September 2026 — The Grandstand court was not where I witnessed Stan Wawrinka make history. Arthur Ashe Stadium was where he defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2026 US Open final, with 46 winners and a one-handed backhand widely considered the most feared weapon in men's tennis during 2026–2026. But his farewell took place on a smaller court, before thousands of fans who lined up early, in a first-round match he lost to Matteo Berrettini 6-7(4), 6-7(3), 0-6. I stood in the press area, watching him leave the court for the last time, and realized I was witnessing not just the end of a career, but the closing of an era — the era of the one-handed backhand at Grand Slam level. Wawrinka entered the 2026 US Open as a 41-year-old, ranked outside the top 100, having won only 7 of 22 matches during the season. He had even returned to Switzerland before receiving the call that Patrick Kypson withdrew due to injury, and the tournament's final wild card belonged to him. This was an ironic arrangement: a three-time Grand Slam champion, who had beaten the world No. 1 in all three Major finals, had to wait for a wild card from a young American's withdrawal. But this very irony created an emotional farewell, where fans came not to witness victory, but to honor one of the greatest one-handed backhands in history. The story of Wawrinka's one-handed backhand began with a coaching intervention when he was just 11. His two-handed backhand was described as "terrible," and his coach switched him to a one-hander. This was a fateful turning point: without that intervention, Wawrinka might have been a journeyman player, never reaching the summit. But it was precisely this one-handed backhand — with its heavy topspin, flat contact point, and ability to create winners from defensive positions — that transformed him into one of the most feared players of 2026–2026. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the 2026 Australian Open final, Djokovic at Roland-Garros 2026 and the US Open 2026. In all three Grand Slam finals, he faced the world No. 1 and won each time. This is a rare statistic in modern tennis history. But Wawrinka's one-handed backhand was not just a tactical weapon; it was a statement of style. In an era where young players are trained to hit two-handed on both sides, the one-hander demands exquisite timing, footwork, and wrist strength. Wawrinka once said that modern players "play really hard from both sides," which makes the one-hander disadvantaged against heavy topspin targeting the backhand corner. The truth is that the one-handed backhand is disappearing from elite tennis: only 5 players in the top 100 use it, including Lorenzo Musetti, Denis Shapovalov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniel Altmaier, and Aleksandar Kovacevic. Wawrinka was the last generation trained to develop this skill at the elite level. Wawrinka's farewell match against Berrettini was a microcosm of his career: two competitive tiebreak sets where he still showed elite tennis IQ and shot-making ability, followed by a 0-6 bagel when his body could no longer sustain the intensity. I have followed Wawrinka since his early Challenger days, and I recognize that the third-set collapse was not a lack of will, but an acknowledgment that a 41-year-old body cannot maintain Grand Slam intensity. He could still compete at a top-50 level in short stretches, but could not sustain it over three sets. This is the most honest data about the end of a career. There is something rarely mentioned about Wawrinka: he was a "big-stage player" — performing best when the stage was largest. His Grand Slam final record is 3-1, and all three wins came against the world No. 1. While his 16 ATP titles are not staggering, the quality of those three Grand Slam victories defines his career. He was not the most consistent player, but he knew how to elevate his game under the greatest pressure. This contrasts sharply with the image of a player "only good at smaller events" — Wawrinka proved that the one-handed backhand, despite its disadvantages in modern play, can still be a path to elite success when it suits a player's natural coordination and timing. Wawrinka's departure marks a significant milestone in tennis history: the end of the Big Three era. Just two days before his farewell match, Roger Federer was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Both are products of Swiss tennis — a small nation that produced two of the greatest players of their generation. Wawrinka and Federer also won Olympic gold in men's doubles at Beijing 2026, a rare achievement no other nation has replicated with both players in the top 10 in singles. But with both retired, Swiss tennis faces a structural vacuum: no male player in the current top 50. This is a structural challenge for a small nation whose success was built on exceptional individual talent rather than systemic depth. Wawrinka grew up on a farm in Lausanne, and he often references this as part of his identity: "always trying to give, always trying to fight, always showing up." This is not a cliché, but a deep self-awareness of his brand — a fighter who maximized his talent through effort, not natural gifts. He once said that one of the reasons he played until 41 was to live moments like this — a farewell in the gratitude of the crowd. This is a deliberate management of legacy, not a random ending. As I left the Grandstand court that afternoon, I remembered my own words from a piece about Nguyễn Thị Oanh at the 2026 SEA Games: "There is data that doesn't need to be loud, just needs someone patient enough to read it." The data about Wawrinka is not in rankings or title counts, but in those moments he stood before Djokovic and Nadal, with his one-handed backhand ready to strike from any position on court. People look at the rankings; I look at what the rankings hide. And what the rankings hide is a one-handed backhand that defined a generation, and a career that proved patience and effort can overcome pure talent. The question for the next generation is not whether the one-handed backhand can return, but whether we still have the patience to develop skills that take time to master. Wawrinka is proof that the slow and deep path can still lead to the summit. But in a tennis world increasingly prioritizing efficiency and immediate results, is there still room for one-handed backhands — and for those willing to wait for them to mature? That is the question I will carry as I leave New York, and perhaps the question world tennis needs to confront.