“Not sure challenger prize money can pay any debt” Stan Wawrinka shuts down debt jibe with perfect Challenger clapback

Former world number three Stan Wawrinka has responded to a comment from a social media user about his decision to play in the Challengers event. The 40-year-old is currently playing in a Challengers event in Rennes where he booked his spot in the quarterfinal after beating France’s Dan Added in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4.

In the first round, Wawrinka defeated Kenny de Schepper of France in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-4. A video was shared of Wawrinka’s brilliant shot in one of the matches on the official handle of the ATP Challenger Tour. A user on the social media platform retweeted it, stating that either Wawrinka loves tennis too much or he has a lot of debt to pay.

“He either loves tennis like no other or has insane debt,” wrote the user. In response to that, Wawrinka responded by stating that he does not think anyone can pay their debt by playing in the Challenger event. “Not sure challenger prize money can pay any debt,” wrong Wawrinka.

This is not the first time Wawrinka has been questioned about his desire to continue playing at the highest level, despite it becoming apparent that he is no longer competitive against the best players in the world. In 2024, Wawrinka explained his decision to continue playing at the highest level. At that time, Wawrinka stated that he still has goals that he wants to achieve, which is why he is still playing at the highest level.

“There are always goals,” said Wawrinka while talking to Express Sport back then. “I think as an athlete it’s important to set yourself some goals. I also know that of course, the goals I had 10 years ago are not the same now, especially after so many injuries and surgeries the last few years. I’ve been on tour for 20 years and of course when I get to 39 years old and I’m 80 in the world, for sure people will ask me the question and I have no problem with that. It’s just the way I want to answer it and the way I want to prove that I still want to be there. At the end of the day, I decide what I’m going to do with my tennis career. And as much as I enjoy what I’m doing, I’m passionate about that, I still feel competitive to play some big matches and to win some good matches, I want to keep going because it’s a chance to be still playing at that level.”

Even if Wawrinka decides to retire from tennis right now, he will finish his career as a very successful player. Wawrinka, in his career, has won three Grand Slam titles. Those victories can be considered even more special considering the fact that he won those titles while competing against the ‘Big Three’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in their prime.

Wawrinka’s first Grand Slam triumph came in 2014 when he lifted the Australian Open after beating the former world number one Nadal in the final with a score of 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3. Next year in 2015, Wawrinka lifted his second Grand Slam title as he won the French Open after beating legendary Djokovic in the final with a score of 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4. Wawrinka’s last major triumph came in 2016 when he lifted the US Open after beating Djokovic once again in the final with a score of 6–7(1–7), 6–4, 7–5, 6–3. In 2017, Wawrinka came close to lifting his fourth Grand Slam title as he lost to Nadal in the final of the French Open in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-3, 6-1.