"I have been very tired, broken even": Stan Wawrinka admits recent struggles after early exit at 2023 Swiss Indoors

Stan Wawrinka has opened up on his recent struggles after another early exit at the 2023 Swiss Indoors.

The 38-year-old has had a hugely successful career, winning three Grand Slam titles across two surfaces - the 2014 Australian Open, the 2015 French Open, and the 2016 US Open. He is also a former World No. 3 and has 16 ATP titles to his name.

However, the Swiss player has admitted over recent months that his career is winding down, despite his desire to keep playing due to the immense support he receives from his fans.

Wawrinka recently took to the courts on home soil at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, but lost to in straight sets to Alexander Shevchenko in the opening round.

This came after a second-round defeat at the Stockholm Open last week and a difficult time on the Asian Swing, including a tough loss against Marcos Giron at the Astana Open where each of the three sets went to a tiebreak. After his match in Basel, Wawrinka opened up on his physical and mental state.

"I feel that for the past few weeks, I have been very tired, broken even. After Astana, there were two or three times when I wanted to work but I couldn't because I was too tired," he explained.

The World No. 45 added that he believes this exhaustion is due to pushing himself earlier in the season when he was coming back from an injury.

"I feel like I'm paying back for all the efforts I've made since returning from injury. I really wanted to get back to a certain level and I had to push myself as much as possible to do that," he continued.