Stan Returns! Wawrinka To Play Challenger Event

It’s been a long road for Stan Wawrinka, but the Swiss star is accelerating his preparations for his return to the ATP Tour.

The former World No. 3 has accepted a wild card for the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open, an event on the ATP Challenger Tour, being held in Marbella, Spain from 27 March until 3 April.

Wawrinka suffered a foot injury in early 2021 and has not played since his three-set defeat to Lloyd Harris at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in March last year. His return to the match court following surgery and extensive rehabilitation is a promising sign for the three-time Grand Slam champion.

The Challenger 125 event boasts a strong field, with Wawrinka one of three former Top 10 players playing at the clay-court event along with Fernando Verdasco and Lucas Pouille. Two players in the running for qualification for the 2022 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, Holger Rune and Jiri Lehecka, are also competing, as well as World No. 89 Jaume Munar, who reached the final in both 2020 and 2021.

The tournament will mark Wawrinka’s first return to the Challenger Tour since August 2020 when he played back-to-back events in Prague, the first of which he clinched with a championship match victory over Aslan Karatsev.