Wawrinka Suffers Fifth Consecutive Loss at Sassuolo Challenger

At 40 years old, Stan Wawrinka is going through a tough phase. The Swiss player, a three-time Grand Slam champion in his career, has suffered his fifth consecutive defeat, his fourth on the Challenger Circuit during this period.

After his first-round exit at Roland-Garros against Jacob Fearnley, the former world No. 3 returned to the secondary circuit and continued his clay-court season.

A week after his early elimination in Perugia against Radu Albot (6-4, 7-6), the No. 6 seed at the Sassuolo tournament started strong against qualifier Elias Ymer but ultimately fell short (3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in 2 hours and 44 minutes).

With 28 winners but also 49 unforced errors, the Swiss champion continues his rough patch. Wawrinka’s last victory dates back to May 3, when he triumphed in the semifinals of the Aix-en-Provence Challenger against Borna Gojo (6-4, 6-4).

Currently ranked 155th in the world, the 2014 Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 champion has not played a single grass-court tournament in 2025 and will not compete in next week’s Wimbledon qualifiers. This means that unless he receives a wild card, the Vaud native will not participate in the London Grand Slam this year.