Stan Wawrinka’s return road hit a snag on Friday when he withdrew from the Geneva Open tennis tournament next week due to injury.

After missing most of 2021 due to a foot ailment that needed two surgeries, the Swiss three-time Grand Slam champion won for the first tournament in 15 months on Monday in Rome.

However, following his quarter-final loss to top seed Novak Djokovic at the Italian Open on Thursday, he informed Geneva organizers that he would be unable to compete.

The 37-year-old, who has seen his world ranking drop to 361, had been given a wildcard to play before home fans on the Geneva clay, the week before the French Open.

“It’s a disappointment because obviously, we are in Switzerland, he won the tournament twice, he was the ambassador of the tournament for the first three years after it returned to Geneva,” tournament director Thierry Grin told AFP.

“Unfortunately he is injured. It happens.”

Daniil Medvedev, the world number two, will compete in the 28-man race after undergoing hernia surgery last month.

The top 20 players include last year’s victor Casper Ruud, runner-up Denis Shapovalov, and Reilly Opelka.