Stan Wawrinka continues his season this week in Montpellier, shortly after his farewell from the Australian Open.
Wawrinka lost his last Australian Open match to Taylor Fritz, with the Swiss legend falling to the American in round three.
Playing at the Grand Slam for the final time ahead of his retirement later this season, he battled past Laslo Djere and Arthur Gea before his exit.
Wawrinka has now already moved on to the ATP 250 event in Montpellier, where he had signed up to play singles and doubles.
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Stan Wawrinka out of Montpellier doubles after Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard injury
Wawrinka starts his singles tournament against Hamad Medjedovic, with the winner set to face top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
But the Swiss icon won’t be playing doubles in France because of the withdrawal of his partner Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
One of the home favorites was trailing 3-6 in his singles opener against Gea, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.
And it was a freak injury to say the least, with Mpetshi Perricard hitting himself in the eye with the ball when trying to return a volley.
He couldn’t continue against fellow Frenchman Gea, and has now withdrawn from his doubles match with Wawrinka against Hendrik Jebens and Ray Ho.
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Wawrinka and Mpetshi Perricard have been replaced by an alternate in doubles, with the latter hopefully heading for a speedy recovery.
The big-serving Frenchman clearly felt the very uncommon issue could not be recovered from there and then, which is a real shame.
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But Wawrinka remains in singles contention, with the 40-year-old having received a wildcard to play at the tournament.
It was perhaps an obvious decision from the tournament, which copied the Australian Open by handing Wawrinka a wildcard.
But it was a great decision, and other ATP events would be very wise to follow suit as the 2026 season progresses.
The veteran is a legend of the sport, and fans undoubtedly travel from all over to get one last glimpse of Wawrinka before he calls time on his glittering career.
His career honors list includes three Grand Slam titles, while he once climbed as high as number three in the world rankings.
