Stan Wawrinka is preparing for his final season on the professional tennis tour. The three-time Grand Slam champion announced his plans to retire during the off-season and will hang up his racket at the end of 2026. But the 40-year-old still has plenty of tennis to play and will kick off his last year on the circuit at the United Cup, where he will be a playing captain for Switzerland.

Wawrinka will lead the team as they face Italy and France in Group C, and is also their No. 1 male singles player. And the former world No. 3 has already hinted that he could return to the United Cup next year in a new role, potentially just weeks after he would have retired.

Ahead of the tournament, Wawrinka joined the rest of Team Switzerland for a press conference, where WTA No. 11 Belinda Bencic said: "He's the captain next year, for sure." Although Wawrinka wasn't certain, he didn't rule out a return to the captain's bench in 12 months' time.

"Let's see. Let's see how it goes. Let's see first how we enjoy this week. Hopefully if we play well, if we leave Perth on a positive note, maybe I will come back as a captain," he replied.

For now, Wawrinka still has plenty of tennis ahead of him, and he wants to end his glittering career on a high. "Of course, it's going to be special, but it's going to be my last year. So after more than 20 years on tour, of course, it's going to be really special playing all those tournaments that I play so many times for one last time," the 16-time title winner explained.

"But in the same time, one year is really long. There's a lot of tennis to play, hopefully, and some good results. For me, I'm just grateful to be able to play those tournaments again one last time, one more time, to see all the fans around the world. I'm super happy also to discover new cities like here, Perth. For me, it's my first time. So I'm really looking forward."

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Wawrinka continued: "Yeah, like I always did, I always try to push my limit for me. Being an athlete is always doing the maximum you can, pushing your own limits, trying to reach the highest you can with your own ability.

Of course, it's going to be difficult sometimes in tournaments. It's going to be really emotional, because I know how I feel and how I am, and I love so much this sport, but in general, I'm really happy with my decision. I'm at peace with that. I'm happy to have this chance to still be able to play at that level at 40 years old. Like I say, hopefully I can get some good results this year."

During his career, Wawrinka has beaten Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray on the biggest stages. He won the Australian Open, French Open and US Open, plus 13 other singles titles, and teamed up with Federer to win Olympic gold in men's doubles at the 2008 Olympics. But he picked up a career-threatening knee injury in 2017, and then had two foot surgeries in 2021.

Now, Wawrinka wants to say goodbye on his terms. "That's the most challenging part when you get older in sport as an athlete. The risk of injury are always getting higher and higher, especially after 35 years old. I got enough injuries the last few years. I'm happy," he added.

"I'm feeling good, and that's also one of my goals is to be able to finish by playing tennis and not to have to finish after 20 years with an injury. Yeah, that's also one of the reasons why I became to the point that I wanted to be my last year is to finish on a good note. Hopefully it's going to be like that."