"Retirement not on table": Stan Wawrinka's coach Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh jokes Swiss wants to play '10 years' as he joins him after Dominic Thiem split

Stan Wawrinka recently began working with Dominic Thiem's former coach Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh. The German has let fans in on the Swiss' motivations at this point of his career.

Ebrahimzadeh is a former tennis pro who reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 512 in 2006. Following his retirement, the Iranian-German worked with Angelique Kerber from 2012 to 2015, before a short stint with 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem in 2023-24.

The 44-year-old recently joined Stan Wawrinka's team after ending his partnership with Thiem. Speaking to the German daily Blick, he maintained that the former World No. 3 is not ready to retire despite being 39 and intends to train hard each day.

"He told me in Marrakech that he wanted to do another ten years," Ebrahimzade said. "He did not define it for himself. He just wants to play, work day after day and continue to progress. The subject of retirement is not on the table."

The Iranian-German added that he felt great about coaching the three-time Major winner.

"It happened very quickly. Domi announced the separation and Stan wrote to me in the afternoon," he said. "It’s an honor to train a champion like Stan."

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Stan Wawrinka suffers tough defeat to Alex de Minaur in the first round of the Monte-Carlo Masters

Stan Wawrinka retrieves a ball at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters

Stan Wawrinka and Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh's partnership has yet to translate into a good result. The Swiss was defeated 3-6, 0-6 by 11th-seeded Alex de Minaur in the first round of the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters on Tuesday (April 9).

With his most recent loss, Wawrinka has now dropped six of his eight matches this year. He has failed to win back-to-back matches since last year's US Open, where he reached the third round.

The three-time Major winner will be eager to regain the form he displayed during his runner-up finish at the 2024 Croatia Open in Umag last July. According to his new coach, he will sit out of the Madrid Masters but will play the Rome Masters and the French Open in the following weeks.

Wawrinka is currently ranked 79th in the world, which is a far cry from his career-best ranking of No. 3 that he achieved following his maiden Major title at the 2014 Australian Open. He went on to win the 2015 French Open and the 2016 US Open, before injuries hindered his career at the top of the game.