Fans who arrived early in the Bernese Oberland on the opening Sunday were treated to an action-packed day.
Six players, including two Swiss, battled for the final spots in the main draw of the 2026 EFG Swiss Open Gstaad inside the Roy Emerson Arena. While Zurich’s Marc-Andrea Huesler fell to France’s Clément Tabur in straight sets, fellow Swiss Dylan Dietrich secured his place in the main draw. He joins Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Stricker, Jérôme Kym and Kilian Feldbausch as the fifth Swiss player in the singles draw.
The 21-year-old from Zurich (ATP No. 694) produced a remarkable upset in the second and final qualifying round, defeating Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro (ATP No. 292), a former World No. 61, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Dietrich’s ATP Tour main draw debut will immediately feature an all-Swiss clash against Jérôme Kym (ATP No. 196). Kym, who reached the quarter-finals on his tournament debut last year, received the first wild card awarded by the tournament.
While Dietrich was writing his own success story on court, the tournament village was celebrating Stan Wawrinka’s farewell to Gstaad. In front of a large crowd, the three-time Grand Slam champion joined fellow Swiss Dominic Stricker on stage for a public interview, offering heartfelt reflections ahead of his 14th and final appearance at the Swiss tournament. Following the interview, “Stan the Man” signed autographs for what seemed like an endless line of fans before his close friend Bastian Baker paid tribute with an emotional open-air concert. The Swiss singer-songwriter performed some of his biggest hits while sharing touching and humorous stories about the beginning and evolution of his friendship with the departing tennis legend.
Before making his singles debut on Tuesday’s official “Swiss Day”, Wawrinka will already be in action on Centre Court on Monday. Teaming up with Jérôme Kym in doubles, he will face the American-Brazilian duo of Marcelo Demoliner and Robert Galloway (from around 3:00 p.m.).
Other Swiss players will also take to the court on the opening day of the main draw. Kilian Feldbausch (ATP No. 288) will face Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic (ATP No. 50), before local favourite Dominic Stricker (ATP No. 343) meets Spain’s Jaume Munar (ATP No. 44) in the evening session.