From Vernon, B.C. to Wimbledon, Vasek Pospisil's tennis career proves ‘Anything is Pospisil'

Globe and Mail

6 days ago

As Canadian tennis player Vasek Pospisil is set to retire at the National Bank Open at age 35, his father Milos can't pick one favourite memory from his son's career.
Maybe it was trekking to tournaments together in a small Winnebago, seeing him win a Wimbledon doubles title, or watching him upset then World No.1 Andy Murray at Indian Wells.
But it's hard to top the feeling of seeing his son represent Canada in Davis Cup and help the country win its first title in 2022. Especially since Vasek was the first of his three sons to be born in Canada after the family escaped from the former Czechoslovakia and made a life in Vernon, B.C.
'That was such a big deal for as immigrants from former Czechoslovakia, to give something back,' said Milos Pospisil, who had coached his son until age 20. 'You could tell by watching Vasek playing Davis Cup what it meant to him to represent Canada.'
Milos and his wife Mila are in Toronto this weekend to watch their son play his final tournament, along with other family and friends. It's fitting, as the player himself recognizes he could never have made it without the family's sacrifices. The father once quit his job at the local brewery to coach him full time and help him reach a pro tennis career, even sold their home to finance the way.
'It's very important that my family is here, because I was a long shot, and it was like a family project for me to make it,' said Pospisil. 'It was just as much my dad's success, as mine, and for the whole family.'
Pospisil sifts through a lifetime of tennis memories. He started out young, playing on concrete courts in Vernon, with his dad as his coach. He tested himself against his older brothers. There weren't many others playing tennis in the area at the time.
They found clever ways to save money in an expensive sport over the years. In Europe, the father bought a used Honda Civic so they could travel by car as much as possible. When in North America, they got a small diesel Winnebago to travel everywhere from California to Florida, stopping at rest areas along the U.S. freeways. They drove through cold places too, and the heat would sometimes conk out. The youngster would make them both coffee.
'I have incredible memories with my dad,' said Pospisil. 'Just an incredible childhood, and I'm very fortunate to have the family that I do.'
Later on, Tennis Canada helped support them. During his 18-year career on the ATP Tour, Pospisil reached a career-high No. 25 singles ranking in 2014. He won seven ATP Tour doubles titles and reached three singles finals, in Washington (2014), Sofia and Montpellier (both 2020). He was named the ATP's Comeback Player of the Year in 2020.
Pospisil helped provide one of the most memorable moments in recent Canadian Open history when he reached the semi-finals as a qualifier in Montreal in 2013 and lost an all-Canadian showdown to Milos Raonic. Along the way, the slogan 'Anything is Pospisil' came to characterize the player.
After breakout tennis season, anything is Pospisil
In doubles, he won Wimbledon alongside American teammate Jack Sock in 2014 – a duo known as 'The Pop-Socks.' He was the doubles No. 4 player in the world in 2015.
Representing Canada, he was a two-time Olympian (2012 and 2016) and played in 35 Davis Cup ties from 2008 to 2025. He'd begun as a 17-year-old who idolized Canadian doubles star Daniel Nestor and got to team up with him several times. His last tie for Canada was earlier this year in Montreal, where he partnered with Davis Cup rookie Liam Draxl.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, who played a key role in Canada's Davis Cup title, says it was fun to see Pospisil celebrating it.
'I was so happy to play my part, because he deserved it for how much he's given to Team Canada,' said Auger-Aliassime. 'I mean, playing ties all over the world. . .me watching that as a kid inspired me to one day play for the team.'
Pospisil also made his mark as an advocate for players' rights, joining Novak Djokovic in founding the first-ever Professional Tennis Players Association in 2019.
Earlier this year, along with the PTPA, he filed an antitrust lawsuit against the main governing bodies of professional tennis.
While he doesn't regret for a minute spending his energy on the PTPA work, he admits it distracted from his work on the court in recent years.
'Going from someone that was very popular amongst the establishment at all these tournaments to suddenly being extremely unpopular was tough,' he said. 'You're going to work and half the people that you see can't stand you, and half the people love you.'
Injuries also disrupted Pospisil's career several times. He hasn't played many matches in the past few years, especially at the ATP Tour level. He estimates he's spent 80 per cent of the last three years rehabbing injuries. Each attempted comeback seemed to hit a roadblock. Burnout set it. Finally, he knew it was time to call it a career officially in one final tournament in Toronto.
As for what's next, Pospisil says he'll pursue his interests in business. He's enjoyed helping raise money for a VC fund in the U.S. during recent years.
Pospisil doesn't see himself becoming a player coach, but he does plan to stay close to tennis. He's keen to help with any Davis Cup duties, should Tennis Canada ask him. He's also interested in aiding in-need tennis youngers in a philanthropic way.
'Nothing would make me happier than to help young juniors in less privileged positions,' he said. 'I learned through years of trial and error, so if I can help expedite the learning curve for somebody who is a good person, or two or three or more players, then I would find that fulfilling.'
Pospisil's dad welcomes the post-retirement era.
'We're gonna miss seeing him competing in the big tournaments,' said his father. 'But I'm also quite excited about seeing him go through his next chapter of life.'