You would think Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer are close allies and friends. The two Swiss tennis legends have teamed to win the 2008 Olympic gold medal and 2014 Davis Cup title however their so-called surface friendship may just be business related.
There have been some interesting rumbles in the rocky alliance.
An ATP World Tour manager revealed that young Roger used to drive Stan nuts by stealing his racquets and then hiding them at ATP tournaments.
Of course, everybody remembers the on court blow up at World Tour Finals 2014 in London when Stan confronted Mirka on court during a match vs Roger, accusing her of whistling and distracting him, just like she did at Wimbledon, and then Mirka mockingly taunted Stan calling him a “crybaby.”
Somehow Fed and Stan buried that hatchet and a week later won the Davis Cup together. There were reports that Stan banned Mirka from that Davis Cup final vs France which the Swiss won.
Then later when Stanimal won the 2016 US Open title vs. Novak Djokovic, Marc Berman of the NY Post asked Stan if Roger texted him any advice. Wawrinka actually laughed at Berman’s question.
Wawrinka, who is four years younger than Federer, has never participated in Laver Cup, a snub which speaks volumes.
The Federer vs Wawrinka head to head rivalry ended up 23-2 in Roger’s favor.
Are they friends, phony friends or even enemies? Let you be the judge.
ATP · Davis Cup · Olympics · Roger Federer · Stan Wawrinka · Switzerland
Bradentonfan · January 13, 2026 at 5:09 pm
It’s a wonder these two did so well together in Davis Cup and Olympic Games despite some obvious tensions but for professional and business reasons they managed to take care of the tasks at hand and get the job done. They could have done much better if they were closer personally. Don’t expect to see Federer invite Stan to take part in his exo tour lol
Scoop Malinowski · January 13, 2026 at 8:13 pm
Stan was always in Fed’s shadow except for a few brief flashes and glimpses. Federer had to know Stan was a threat to his supremacy and made the right moves to keep him a step or two back. That’s tennis. Vilas and Clerc had a similar rivalry dynamic. Becker and Stich too.
Sam · January 14, 2026 at 3:00 am
Their relationship is probably “icy,” but I doubt they have dartboards of each other in their houses or anything. 😏
Scoop Malinowski · January 14, 2026 at 8:18 am
They can’t… they have to portray a civil relation. IF they really to hold animosity against each other and it became known to the public it would wreck both of their perfect images. Agassi said it best and it still applies to tennis, Image is everything. But then as one ATP player said, “His media image and real image are totally different.
Sam · January 24, 2026 at 4:38 am
Image is everything. But then as one ATP player said, “His media image and real image are totally different.
What player is he referring to with that statement?
Anyway, that kind of thing is true in many areas of life. For instance, you often hear of religious figures with such double lives as well, who Jesus called hypocrites. 👺
Scoop Malinowski · January 24, 2026 at 8:01 am
Referring to the one with the most perfect image.