Stan Wawrinka ended his professional tennis career on Tuesday evening at the age of 41, after the first-round match in Basel

Stan Wawrinka, 41, ended his professional career on Tuesday evening after being defeated by Czech player Jiri Lehecka, 5-7, 6-7 (2), in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament in Basel, Switzerland. The match lasted one hour and 50 minutes and marked the Swiss player's 985th appearance in the ATP main draw.

Wawrinka had a chance to force a deciding set. At 5-4 and 30-30 in the second set, he was two points away from winning the set, but Lehecka held firm and then won the tie-break convincingly, 7-2. In the first set, the Czech player fought back late and won 7-5.

At the end, Lehecka told him that he was “a little sad” that he was retiring, while the crowd hailed him with the chant “Merci, Stan.” Emotional, Wawrinka said he had enjoyed “a perfect farewell in Switzerland.”

The Swiss player ends a career spanning more than 24 years, with 16 ATP titles, including three Grand Slam trophies: the 2014 Australian Open, the 2015 Roland Garros and the 2016 US Open. He climbed as high as world No. 3, won Olympic gold in doubles in 2008 and the Davis Cup in 2014.

Wawrinka will also take part in one final special event in Bucharest on December 12 at Sala Polivalentă, where he will participate in the “Last Serve/Stan the Man: Backhand Super Show” gala. He will play alongside Karen Khachanov, Horia Tecău and Marius Copil.