Tennis Growing Rapidly in Canada
Ben West of National Bank and Jeff Baumann of Ankora Retaining Wall discuss the importance of their involvement in the National Bank Stanley Park Open on CTV Morning Live.
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CBC
26 minutes ago
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Anything is Pospisil: Retiring B.C. tennis star says 'if you set your mind to something you can achieve it'
Social Sharing Vasek Pospisil has hung up his racket. On July 27, the 35-year-old from Vernon, B.C., played his last professional match in the Canadian Open against Argentina's Facundo Bagnis. While he lost the match, he certainly won the hearts of those in the stands, who rose for a standing ovation. He described his final moments in professional tennis as "perfect." Pospisil's retirement comes after nearly two decades of playing professionally. He's played in two Olympics, won a Wimbledon title and won the Davis Cup — Canada's first Davis Cup, that is. Tennis Canada has referred to him as "one of the most important Canadian tennis players of all time." And while Pospisil is now retired, he said tennis will always be part of his life. "I'm definitely going to stay close to this sport," he said. "I'll have a soft spot for the rest of my life for this sport for sure." He spoke with CBC's The Early Edition after his final match. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. What was that final match and that standing ovation like for you? I feel very grateful that I had the opportunity to play my final match on home soil in front of my family and friends, and fans. It was just as much of a family project as it was my own. So it was just important to me that my family was there for the last one. It was perfect. I feel like it went just the way it was supposed to go. I was grateful for the opportunity and very grateful for the career that I've had. What are some highlights from your career? Off the top of my head immediately, the first one that comes to mind is my breakthrough event in Montreal in 2013, where I made the semifinals, the Masters there and had my first top-10 win. That was just incredible because it just kind of came a little bit out of nowhere. I mean, I was building momentum, but it was my breakthrough event. So that was very special. And then the other two would be winning the Wimbledon title. And then, of course, Davis Cup, that one probably felt the most special of all. What was it like in the early days in Vernon, playing tennis? It was interesting. There were not very many players, at least back when I was growing up; it was very tough to find good competition and improve. My dad and I would go in and play on the public courts, and he would just feed baskets side to side, and you just have to kind of grind. Then, when I was 12 years old, I left Vernon and started travelling more, playing internationally and trying to develop the game, which was extremely important. It's definitely unusual for a tennis professional to be coming from a town like Vernon, that's for sure. Who did you look up to as a young tennis player? When Roger Federer started coming on tour, he was my favourite for many years. You know, before that, it was Patrick Rafter; I was always a huge fan of his game. Within Canada was Daniel Nestor. It was a dream of mine to represent Canada. From the beginning, it was just something I really, really wanted to do. To meet Daniel for the first time was crazy. And playing doubles with him for the first time. So he was a big role model and someone I looked up to a lot in the country. Tell us more about your dad's role. He coached me for 15 years. And when I was 20 years old, I started working with another coach, which was his decision. So that was good. I would have never fired my dad, probably. So it's a good thing that he passed the torch. From that point, he never really got overly involved, took a back seat. He's a very smart man. He did everything the right way. What would you say to a young kid in Vernon who has just started their tennis career now? Anything is possible. If you put in the work and you persevere through tough periods, and you really set your mind to something — a goal or dream or vision — you can achieve it. It's really just about mindset. Making the right decisions along the way is obviously easier said than done, but you have to always, always make the best decision that you know that you can at the time. And whether that's potentially leaving a town like Vernon at a certain age to enhance your development, that would be considered one of the decisions you have to be very careful about. But it doesn't matter where you're from. If you set your mind to something, you can achieve it. You and Novak Djokovic founded the Professional Tennis Players Association in 2019, and just this March, the group filed an antitrust lawsuit against the women's and men's tours, the International Tennis Federation, among others. What's the main issue? The main point is monopolistic control that the tours have attained, which is unfortunately stifling the growth of the sport. It's created a lack of proper representation for players, price fixing, schedule abuse. There are many different things, but those are kind of the primary. I've been around for many, many years in the sport and tried to represent my peers as best I could when I was on the council. But going through that whole journey, that whole process was very, very evident that you can't really get anything done. Players don't really have a voice, and we're not treated as business partners the way that we should be in such a global business. So it's something that's very, very important for the sport. Just knowing how much you have to sacrifice, how much work goes in from a young age, you know, to get to the top of the game. I kind of felt like it was my duty that I had to fight for that. I was fighting for myself, and I started obviously in my late 20s, but I was also fighting for my peers. And now at this point, it's fighting for the future of the sport in the next generation. So I think it's very important that people are bringing a certain amount of value to whatever business or industry that they get, that their compensation is reflected accordingly and that they have some kind of voice within their industry. What's next for you?
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Canada's Victoria Mboko stuns No. 1 seed Coco Gauff to reach NBO quarterfinals
Victoria Mboko of Canada waves to the crowd following her win over Coco Gauff of the United States during round of 16 tennis action at the National Bank Open in Montreal, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi) Even Victoria Mboko couldn't believe what she achieved. It was billed as the tournament's marquee match. A rising Canadian star — and last remaining singles hope from the host country — facing her stiffest test yet against the No. 1 seed. And she blew past her in just 62 minutes. Mboko's stellar run at the National Bank Open hit a new level Saturday with a dominant 6-1, 6-4 victory over Coco Gauff of the United States, lifting the 18-year-old from Toronto into the quarterfinals before a raucous, sellout crowd at IGA Stadium. 'I don't even know what to say,' said Mboko, smiling in disbelief. 'I was shocked about it all. Everything came so fast. There were so many people. I feel like tonight I'll let it soak in a little bit more, but I'm still on the high a little bit.' The whole year has been a high. Mboko's ranking rocketed to 85th in the world this week after she began the year outside the top 300. That number is projected to jump into the 50s with her performance in Montreal, and her rise appears unlikely to end there. After major crowd support for Eugenie Bouchard early in the tournament, the buzz in Montreal shifted around Mboko as the teenage sensation took centre court. Mboko met the moment, flashing the powerful groundstrokes and blistering serve that few opponents have had answers for on the pro circuit this season. 'Your support was incredible,' Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of 'Olé, Olé, Olé!' chants echoed around the venue. 'I'm really happy to win today.' 'When I was up 5-4, the crowd started cheering even louder, and everything got super noisy,' she later added. 'I used that as more fuel for myself and to pump myself up a little bit more. I just used the crowd to my advantage as much as I could.' Gauff, meanwhile, made unforced error after unforced error, firing some shots long and many more into the net. Mboko, who will play Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain, saved all four breakpoint opportunities while converting four of her five chances. She also won nearly 60 per cent of the points, her 11 unforced errors half of Gauff's 22 on a dismal night for the American star. The youngster is only the second teenager — and first Canadian — to defeat Gauff, as well as the first player this season to not drop a single service game against her. 'I knew she would come in with a lot of confidence,' Gauff said. 'I knew that it would be tough. I don't know, I just felt like I could do better today, but I also knew that if I took my foot off the gas a little bit, that she would take advantage of those moments, and she did. 'She's playing high-level tennis. I think that's what showed today. I think she was the better player.' The first set took a swift 25 minutes. The 21-year-old Gauff double-faulted on the third point of the match, leading to an early break for the Canadian. In the seventh game, Gauff doubled-faulted and sent two shots into the net in succession to lose the set. When the two players previously met at the Italian Open in May, Mboko also took the opening set but Gauff convincingly won the next two to snag the victory. This time around, Mboko kept her foot on the gas. 'I was actually really thinking about it a lot during the match,' she said. 'I had flashbacks to when I played her in Rome a little bit. I just remember when she came out playing even better and stepped it up a bit better. 'Wanted to step my game up a little bit more and make sure I matched whatever she was producing, and I wanted to stay right there with her.' Gauff, this year's French Open champion, scraped by with three-set wins in Rounds 2 and 3. She struggled with her serve, striking a whopping 37 double faults in the two matches combined — adding six more on Saturday. Tied 3-3, she earned three breakpoint chances with the match tied 3-3, but committed an error each time as Mboko hung on to win the game. Then with Mboko leading 5-4, Gauff doubled-faulted twice more to set up two match points for the Canadian, who quickly took advantage. It's the latest chapter in a breakthrough season for Mboko, who also played in her first two Grand Slam main draws, reaching the French Open third round and Wimbledon second round. Her impressive record in all competitions this season improved to 50-9, including 24-8 against players ranked above her. In only her seventh WTA main draw, she advanced to the quarterfinals of a 1000-level tournament for the first time, knocking off higher-ranked opponents at each step. Mboko opened with a win over 79th-ranked Kimberly Birrell, then upset 23rd seed and former Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin before snapping Marie Bouzkova's seven-match winning streak with a relentless comeback and taking down Gauff, dropping one set the whole way. 'I do see someone who is going to have a really bright future,' Gauff said. 'She's very athletic. She's a great ball striker, and she seems pretty positive out there on the court, doesn't get really too negative. 'Hopefully we have many more battles, and I look forward to playing her again in the future.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2025.
