LONDON — Stan Wawrinka will bring down the curtain on a remarkable 24-year career next week as 12 ATP stars have ended or are about to finish their careers as the 2026 season nears its conclusion, with four Grand Slam winners among those bowing out.
The 41-year-old Swiss is set for his last official tournament on home soil at the Basel Open, with an exhibition to follow in December. A former world No 3 with 16 singles titles and doubles gold at the 2008 Olympics, Wawrinka famously beat Novak Djokovic twice and Rafael Nadal once in major finals at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open respectively. His farewell follows an emotional exit for David Goffin, who ended his career on Thursday in Brussels in front of his home fans. The Belgian, who turned pro in 2009, reached a career-high of seven in November 2017 and won six titles while beating Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz. "I’m proud of all my career. I gave everything to try to reach my goals. I’m proud of the attitude that I always had in front of the difficulties that I had in my career. I’m proud of the wins I had, the opponents I beat. A lot of things I’m really proud of. But in the end, I have no regrets, and I gave everything until the very end," Goffin told the ATP this week.
Three decorated doubles greats have also stepped away. Jamie Murray, the 40-year-old elder brother of Andy Murray who turned pro in 2004, first reached doubles No 1 in April 2016 and retired in April with 34 doubles titles, including two men’s doubles majors with Bruno Soares and five mixed doubles majors alongside Jelena Jankovic, Martina Hingis and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Rajeev Ram, 42, who also turned pro in 2004 and peaked at 56 in singles, became doubles No 1 in October 2022 aged 38 and retired in September after the US Open with 32 doubles titles, two singles crowns, four men’s doubles majors and two mixed doubles Slams, one with Barbora Krejcikova. Joe Salisbury, who turned pro 12 years ago and reached doubles No 1 in April 2022, retired after the US Open with 17 titles, four men’s doubles majors won alongside Ram and two mixed doubles majors with Desirae Krawczyk.
In singles, several former top-10 favourites have departed. Roberto Bautista Agut, who turned pro in 2005 and peaked at his career-high in November 2019 aged 31, won 12 titles and reached the fourth round or better at every major, including a Wimbledon semi-final and an Australian Open quarter-final, before retiring in July and then scoring twice on debut for Spanish seventh-tier football side CD Els Ibarsos. Kei Nishikori, 36, the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian man in ATP history who reached a career-high of four in March 2015, won 12 titles, reached the US Open final the previous year and claimed Olympic bronze in 2016 before retiring last month at the Japan Open, a tournament he won twice. Milos Raonic, the 6ft 5in Canadian who turned pro in 2008, reached a career-high of three in 2016 when he beat Federer to make the Wimbledon final before losing to Andy Murray, won eight titles and reached four Masters 1000 finals before hanging up his racket in January, 18 months after his final match.
Gael Monfils, the flamboyant 40-year-old former world No 6 and fan favourite, won 13 titles across a 22-year career and had been due to play in Lyon and Paris before retiring, with the end of his marriage to Elina Svitolina putting pay to that plan. Former British No 1 Dan Evans, who reached a career-high of 21 and won two singles titles, retired after Wimbledon, while Mikhail Kukushkin, who turned pro in 2006 and reached a career-high of 39 in February 2019, won one singles title and peaked at 67 in doubles before retiring at this week’s Almaty Open. Bernabe Zapata Miralles, 29, who reached a career-high of 37 in May 2023, retired in May after struggling with mental health problems. Goffin’s farewell in Brussels follows his emotional final singles match in front of home fans.