Retiring Wawrinka 'forever grateful' to US Open despite no wildcard

Stan Wawrinka says his US Open triumph will "forever be one of the greatest moments of my life" after missing out on a wildcard for a farewell appearance in New York.

The 41-year-old will retire at the end of year and was given a wildcard for this year's Australian Open and Wimbledon, while reaching the French Open main-draw on ranking.

He reached the third round in Melbourne and lost a pair of entertaining first-round matches in Paris and Wimbledon respectively.

The US Open has received some criticism for its decision not to award a wildcard to 2016 champion Wawrinka, who did not enter qualifying despite being inside the cut-off.

BBC Sport has contacted the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for comment.

Despite not receiving a wildcard, Wawrinka thanked the US Open and the city of New York in a social media post.

"When I first arrived in New York from a small farming village in Switzerland, everything felt too big. The city. The noise. The energy. The crowds. The lights," the Swiss wrote.

"But, year after year, New York slowly became one of my favourite places in the world.

"This city challenged me. It pushed me. It brought something out of me that few places ever could.

"I experienced some of the strongest emotions of my career here. The battles, the late nights, the incredible atmosphere, the love from the crowd… memories that will stay with me forever.

"Winning the US Open, in the city that never sleeps, will forever be one of the greatest moments of my life."

Wawrinka was one of the few players to win major singles trophies during the 'Big Three' era of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

The former world number three won the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open before triumphing at the US Open 10 years ago.

He made 17 appearances in the men's singles in New York since making his main-draw debut in 2005.