Stan Wawrinka on setbacks, preparing for Wimbledon and friendship with Roger Federer

The 38-year-old Swiss tennis star, back in the top 100, talks about staying healthy – physically and mentally. By Katie Wright.

Stan Wawrinka is looking forward to competing at Wimbledon again this year (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Archive)

With Wimbledon starting next week, Stan Wawrinka is excited about returning to London’s iconic championships.

“It’s really a different tournament with the history, also the fact that we play on grass courts. The courts are amazing, the atmosphere is great,” he says on a video call from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Today, the Swiss player is taking a break from his gruelling training schedule to visit SW19 as part of his long-running partnership with Evian.

“It’s always special for us players to go practise or to play matches on small courts as well, because you have so many fans coming and the atmosphere is always going to be special,” he continues, saying his most memorable Wimbledon match was against a certain Swiss opponent.

“I played one quarter final against Roger [Federer] on Centre Court – it’s always special to play Roger, to play him here was something really nice.”

Ahead of the famous championships, the 38-year-old has been training in Monaco, before heading back to London this week.

So, how does the three-time Grand Slam winner balance the physical and psychological aspects of preparing for high-profile events?

“It’s all a big puzzle,” says Wawrinka, who was born near Lausanne to a German father and Swiss mother.

“As a tennis player, you have the fitness side and you have the mental part – you have everything that you need to do to be ready.”

Plus, there’s the challenge of having to deal with defeats: “Tennis is a tough sport in the way that you end up almost every week losing. You need to accept [that you will] lose and try to learn and take something positive from it.”

How does the former world number three cope with not winning?

“I try to refocus on myself, try to also think about everything I’ve been doing in practice… you can lose against a better player. If you know you’re doing the right things, then you can only be positive about it.”

Stan the Man (as he’s known to fans) isn’t fazed by comparisons to Federer – whom he’s beaten on just three of the 26 times they’ve competed on court.

“I always look for the positive of the situation and I’ve been lucky enough that when I arrived [on the circuit] I was a little bit younger than him – he was already at the top,” says Wawrinka, who is three years younger than his record-breaking countryman.

“For me, it was a chance to have Roger in the same country… I had the chance to practise with him and he became a friend.”

The pair were victorious at the Davis Cup in 2014 and at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, taking gold in the men’s doubles.

“The Olympics are something that any athlete in any sport dreams about, to play individually, but [playing] doubles and to feel like a team it was super special,” Wawrinka recalls.

How does training for doubles matches compare to singles?

“It’s more the mental part. You need to know your partner, talk with him a lot about the tactics, but more about what’s going to happen.

“Communication is really important on the court, but also off the court. For us, it was quite easy to play together because we are such close friends.”

Seen as a late bloomer in terms of tennis, Wawrinka admits it was a struggle waiting to achieve his inaugural Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2014.

“For me, the most challenging part was to find the confidence in myself and in my game. I only won my first Grand Slam at 29 years old, it took me a while to really find that confidence.”

Suffering setbacks throughout his career due to knee, elbow and foot injuries, Wawrinka’s ranking has yo-yoed in the past few years, but he returned to the world top 100 in February.

“It was tough to be back at 37 years old after more than a year out for another two surgeries,” he says.

“It was not easy, but for me, it’s about the passion. I love what I’m doing, I enjoy the process… it was, of course, so special to be back again in the top 100.”

Off the court, he unwinds by spending time with daughter Alexia, 13, whom he shares with ex-wife Ilham Vuilloud, a Swiss TV presenter: “I’m traveling a lot so I don’t have that much time to be with her, so I’m trying to enjoy that.”

Having grown up on his parents’ biodynamic farm, the tennis champ has inherited the green-fingered gene, growing fruit and veg in his garden back home in Switzerland.

“I have tomatoes, courgettes, I have many fruits. I think it’s just different when you have your own garden than when you go buy it at the shop directly.”

Reducing his impact on the environment is also a priority for the Evian global brand ambassador, which is why he’s pleased the water brand is introducing refillable bottles for players at Wimbledon for the first time this year.

“It’s important for us, the players, [because] we’re traveling a lot – this new bottle is going to be great,” Wawrinka says.

Two years away from 40 and with 16 career titles and 550 career wins under his belt, he’s not planning on hanging up his racket any time soon.

“I’m still hoping to play a few more years on tour. It’s, of course, not easy, but I’m passionate about it. I want to enjoy it as much as I can,” Wawrinka says.

“The time I will stop there will be no way back, so I need to really push and try to be as good as I can.”

Evian, official water of the Championships, together with Wimbledon have launched a new refillable solution to hydrate players on court during this year’s tournament. Discover more at www.evian.com.