Wawrinka 'grateful' despite no US Open wildcard

What the report says

Stan Wawrinka has expressed gratitude to the US Open and New York after being denied a wildcard for what would have been a farewell appearance at Flushing Meadows, according to the source article. The 41-year-old Swiss player, who plans to retire at the end of the year, said his 2016 US Open title remains one of the defining moments of his career.

The report says Wawrinka was given wildcards for this year’s Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, but not for the US Open. He did not enter qualifying despite being close enough in ranking to be considered for the main draw cutoff. The decision has drawn some criticism because Wawrinka is a former champion and one of the few players to win major titles during the era dominated by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Wawrinka won three Grand Slam singles titles in his career: the 2014 Australian Open, the 2015 French Open and the 2016 US Open. He has played the men’s singles at the US Open 17 times since his main-draw debut in 2005. His coach, Magnus Norman, also posted a message saying the team had hoped to play one last major together in New York.

More broadly, the article explains that wildcard entries are granted to players who do not qualify automatically by ranking, and that reciprocal wildcards are typically managed by national federations rather than the US Open itself. The tournament begins on Sunday, 30 August, at Flushing Meadows.