Vasek Pospisil
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Vasek Pospisil ( ; cs, Vašek Pospíšil, ; known in born June 23, 1990) is a
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
professional
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player. Pospisil has a career-high world singles ranking of No. 25, and No. 4 in doubles. Along with partner
Jack Sock Jack Sock (born September 24, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. He has won four career ATP singles titles and 17 doubles titles, and has career-high rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 20 November 2017) and world No. 2 in dou ...
, he won the
2014 Wimbledon Championships The 2014 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 128th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held fro ...
and the 2015 Indian Wells Masters men's doubles titles. He also reached the quarterfinals in singles at the
2015 Wimbledon Championships Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak al ...
.


Early life and career

Vasek was born on June 23, 1990 in
Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped establish the Coldstream Ranch in nearb ...
, to Miloš and Mila. In 1988, before Vasek was born, his parents and older brothers unlawfully drove from
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
to
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
to escape the Communist regime. Before moving, Miloš worked as the plant manager of a dairy factory, and Mila taught in a
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
. Both had experience playing recreational sports such as tennis with their sons and in local tournaments. The family lived in northeastern Austria and saved up to move to Canada despite working long hours for low wages. In the summer of 1989, they finally moved to Vernon, British Columbia, a city in the
Okanagan Valley The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is p ...
, because Miloš's brother was living there after escaping his home country in the years prior. It had a population of only about 38,000. The entire family had a meager understanding of the English language upon their arrival. Miloš worked two jobs, at a
flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
and as a machinery operator at a
brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
. He began taking more interest in the game of tennis after the birth of his third son. He coached Vasek's older brothers on community tennis courts, recorded matches on television, and found tips and guidelines in tennis magazines. When Vasek was about 3 years old, he started acting as his brothers'
ball boy Ball boys and ball girls, also known as ball kids are individuals, usually human youths but sometimes dogs, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tenn ...
when they practiced with their father. He also would "drag a mini tennis racquet all over the house." Vasek played his first tournament at age 6, competing at the under-12 level and still emerging as the champion. Approximately three years later, he participated at the under-9 Little Mo Nationals in
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. These victories made Miloš even more enthusiastic about his son's tennis career. As soon as Vasek's brothers reached high school and had played in several tournaments, he was given his first proper lessons. Along with tennis, he also played soccer,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
,
table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
, and
street hockey Street hockey (also known as shinny, dek hockey, ball hockey, road hockey) is a collection of team sport variants played outdoors either on foot or with wheeled skates, using a either a ball or puck designed for play on flat, dry surfaces. The ...
. Vasek quit soccer when he was only 12 due to injuries and because it got in the way of tennis. He said, "In some ways my heart was broken because I often times had more desire to play soccer than tennis." Pospisil frequently traveled to Kelowna—a 45-minute drive—in the winter so that he could play indoors. He made the trip nearly every day for six consecutive years. In the summer, on the other hand, he had to play with his brothers on the poorly-maintained courts of a nearby high school and occasionally took taunts from the students there. In the fall of 2002, the family had to move to
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
so that they could find a tennis coach for their youngest son. They had to leave Miloš behind, as he had to stay in Vernon to work at his brewery, but he would make the four-hour drive on weekends to see them. The decision was also made because Vasek's oldest brother, Tom, was already attending the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...
(UBC) in Vancouver, and Petr was hoping to start going to the same school. Unlike his siblings, Vasek had been
homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
since he was 7 years old to prioritize tennis. He said, "I miss my friends a lot rom schoolbut the home schooling is better. I can do my work almost twice as fast. We thought it would be better to train here. It's a really good club." Vasek was coached by Russian-born Vadim Korkh, who had experience working with players such as Andrei Chesnokov while he was a professor of tennis at the Central Sport Academy in Moscow. Korkh said of Pospisil, "With his dedication and talent there was no question he would succeed. He's a great example for all my students. They all ask about Vasek and I tell them how much dedication he had and I show them his outh tennisschedule and they see how hard he worked." Under Korkh, Vasek studied for school and did fitness training as well as practicing tennis. He played with Korkh five days each week, each practice lasting four hours. In November 2002, Vasek went to Florida and won the Prince Cup, defeating several of the best under-12 players from Europe. He also reached the quarterfinals of the Orange Bowl. At the Ellensburg (WA) Open in 2003, Vasek lost a tight 3-setter to Seattle-area phenom Jeffrey Hammond. Pospisil traveled to play under-14 tournaments in Europe for
Tennis Canada Tennis Canada is the national governing body of tennis within Canada. It works together with the provincial associations to organize tournaments and rules. They also oversee the Canada Davis Cup team and the Canada Fed Cup team. Tennis Canada ...
in the spring of 2003 with three other players. Being younger than most of the players there, he was quickly defeated by his opponents in the early rounds of the main and consolation draws. He faced a knee injury in the process, something that would trouble him for the 18 months that followed. Pospisil would make the same trip as an older player, but would still see little success. In 2004, he won the Canadian Nationals at the U14 level, securing his spot as the best player in the country for his age group. When Vasek was 14 years old, his father decided to return to coaching his son. Miloš left his brewery, moved to Vancouver, and became Vasek's full-time coach, training him at local high school courts once again. Vasek wears Asics shoes.


Junior career

Initially playing USTA at the age of 7, Vasek won his first 12-and-under tournament. He continued to beat high-ranked and respected players such as Ryan Farber. Pospisil reached the doubles final of his first junior
International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there ...
event, the 2005 Canadian U18 ITF World Ranking event, with compatriot Graeme Kassautzki. He and Kassautzki won the doubles event. Partnering another star junior Canadian,
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
, Pospisil won his second doubles title in December 2006, the Prince Cup in the United States. He also won back-to-back doubles titles in the Czech Republic in January and February 2007, as well as the Guru Cup in Italy in May. In singles, Pospisil won the ITF Flevoland Junior Championships in the Netherlands in February, the 25th All-Canadian ITF Junior Championships in April, and the Canadian U18 ITF World Ranking Event, the last one without losing more than four games in any set. Pospisil won two more European events that summer in doubles and was finalist three more times. He capped his summer off by reaching the 2007 U.S. Open boys' doubles final, partnering
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...
. The pair lost to
Jonathan Eysseric Jonathan Eysseric (born 27 May 1990) is a French professional tennis player. Tennis career Juniors In 2007, he was the junior finalist at the 2007 Australian Open. At the 2007 French Open, he competed in the men's and juniors singles draws. In me ...
and Jérôme Inzerillo. In December, he and partner Roman Jebavý won the doubles event at the prestigious Dunlop Orange Bowl. Junior Grand Slam results – Singles: Australian Open: 1R (
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
)
French Open: 2R (
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
)
Wimbledon: 1R (
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
)
US Open: 2R ( 2007) Junior Grand Slam results – Doubles: Australian Open: F (
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
)
French Open: SF (
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
)
Wimbledon: 2R (
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
)
US Open: F ( 2007)


Pro career


2007–10: Early professional years

In March 2007, Pospisil won his first professional tour tournament singles match, at the Canada F1 Futures event, defeating Guatemalan No. 1 Christian Paiz. In the second round, he lost to compatriot Rob Steckley in straight sets. Two weeks later at the Canada F3, he captured his first career title, in doubles, partnering compatriot Érik Chvojka. In June 2007, he and Chvojka lost in the first round of the UniCredit Czech Open, which was Pospisil's first ATP Challenger event. In November 2008, he won the
Challenger Banque Nationale de Rimouski The Challenger de Drummondville, currently sponsored as Challenger Banque Nationale de Drummondville, is a professional tennis tournament held in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada since 2015. It was held in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada from 2006 to 2014. ...
doubles title with compatriot
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
and two more ITF Futures doubles titles. In May 2009, Pospisil and partner
Adil Shamasdin Adil Shamasdin ( ; born May 23, 1982) is a Canadian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He reached his highest doubles ranking of world No. 41 on June 26, 2017. Tennis career Shamasdin's junior career saw him finish ranked No. ...
won the Mexico F4 and F5 doubles titles, as the tournament top seeds. In July 2009 at the USA F17 in Peoria, Illinois, Pospisil reached his first professional singles final, losing to Michael Venus. In doubles, he and Raonic, again the top seeds, won the title, defeating Matt Reid and Dennis Zivkovic in the finals. In August 2009, Pospisil lost in singles in the first round of qualifying for the
Rogers Cup The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...
to fifth seed
Jan Hernych Jan Hernych (born 7 July 1979) is a retired professional male tennis player from Czech Republic. Born in Prague, he turned pro in 1998 and achieved his career-high singles ranking of World No. 59 in April 2009. He won one doubles title and w ...
. The following week, he and partner
Marius Copil Marius Copil (born 17 October 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player playing on the ATP World Tour and ATP Challenger Tour. He is a member of the Romanian Davis Cup team. Copil is known for his extremely fast, powerful, and consiste ...
, the top seeds, took the title of the Romania F14 without dropping a set. In September 2009 at the Italy F28, he and partner
Marcus Willis Marcus Willis (born 9 October 1990) is a British professional tennis player. Willis made his tour debut at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships after qualifying for the main draw, where he gained recognition after playing against Roger Federer in t ...
, the top seeds, took the title. The following week, Vasek captured the singles title of Italy F29, his first singles title, defeating third seed Francesco Piccari in the final. Two weeks later, Pospisil was in top form, capturing his second title in singles in as many tournaments, Italy F30, and without dropping a set or even reaching a tie-break. He was the seventh seed, and in the final he beat second seed
Matteo Viola Matteo Viola (; born 7 July 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He competes mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's pr ...
. After being off for three weeks, Pospisil, as second seed in singles, won Mexico F12, again without dropping a set. In doubles, he and partner Nima Roshan of Australia, the third seeds, also took the tournament title. The following week, Vasek won Mexico F14 as third seed in singles, saving his best tennis for the latter rounds, as he defeated sixth seed
Daniel Garza Daniel Garza (; born 8 April 1985) is a Mexican professional tennis player. He participated in the Davis Cup representing Mexico eight times. His most important victory was during the 2008 Davis Cup tie against Uruguay which he won in four ...
in the semifinals and fifth seed César Ramírez in the final. This was Pospisil's fourth consecutive title and third without dropping a set. Two weeks later, Pospisil, the top seed, lost at Mexico F15 in the semifinals. This loss snapped his 23-match winning streak. After a week off, Pospisil and his partner
Adil Shamasdin Adil Shamasdin ( ; born May 23, 1982) is a Canadian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He reached his highest doubles ranking of world No. 41 on June 26, 2017. Tennis career Shamasdin's junior career saw him finish ranked No. ...
won the doubles title at the Challenger Britania Zavaleta. In mid-March 2010, Pospisil was the top seed in singles at the Canada F3 in
Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...
. He lost only one set in capturing his fifth ITF tour title, defeating Raonic, the second seed, in the final, in three sets. In the second week of April 2010, Pospisil won the doubles title of the Abierto Internacional del Bicentenario Leon, partnering Santiago González as the top-seeded pair. In August 2010, Pospisil lost in the first round of qualifying for the
Rogers Cup The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...
to eventual qualifier
Illya Marchenko Illya Vasylovych Marchenko ( uk, Ілля Васильович Марченко) (born 8 September 1987) is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. Marchenko turned professional in 2005 and had been playing at the Futures and Challengers level f ...
. He played doubles in the main draw as a wild card, partnering Raonic. Together, in the first round, they became, and remain, the only team to ever defeat the doubles team of
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
and
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
. This was his first win in an
ATP Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...
main draw event. After two weeks off, he, as the tournament top seed, took the singles title at the ITF Mexico F6, defeating fifth seed David Rice in the final. Pospisil won a second consecutive singles title, Mexico F7, by defeating second seed Adam El Mihdawy in the final. In October 2010, Pospisil again was the top seed in singles at Canada F5 in
Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest ...
and captured the title, defeating fifth seed
Nicholas Monroe Benjamin Nicholas Monroe (born April 12, 1982) is an American professional tennis player. He has won 4 ATP World Tour doubles titles and 13 ATP Challenger Tour titles in his career. College career Monroe had a highly successful college caree ...
in the final. It was the eighth Futures singles title of his career.


2011–12: First Olympic experience

At the midway point of 2011, Pospisil captured three Challenger doubles titles and two Futures titles, including one in singles. In March at the Rimouski Challenger, he won the doubles title partnering
Treat Conrad Huey Treat Conrad Huey (; born August 28, 1985) is a Filipino-American tennis player who represents the Philippines in international competitions. He turned professional in 2008 and he started representing the Philippines in the Davis Cup and the ...
. Two weeks later, Pospisil captured the doubles title of USA F8 partnering
Nicholas Monroe Benjamin Nicholas Monroe (born April 12, 1982) is an American professional tennis player. He has won 4 ATP World Tour doubles titles and 13 ATP Challenger Tour titles in his career. College career Monroe had a highly successful college caree ...
. Two weeks later, in April, he won his third straight doubles title, the 2011 Tallahassee Tennis Challenger playing with Bobby Reynolds. In May 2011, Pospisil won his ninth career ITF Futures singles title, Korea F2. In June 2011 at Wimbledon, attempting to qualify for a
Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...
tournament for the first time, Pospisil lost in the second round. The following week, he teamed with Reynolds, as the second seeds, to capture the title of the Jalisco Open. In September 2011, Pospisil was instrumental in seeing the Canadian Davis Cup team come back from two rubbers down to win a Davis Cup tie, for the first time. The win allowed the team to face
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, in September, in a World Group play-off. Missing through injury their two top singles players,
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
and
Frank Dancevic Frank Russell Dancevic ( ; sr, Френк Расел Данчевић, Frenk Rasel Dančević, ; born September 26, 1984) is a retired Canadian professional tennis player. He first became the country's top singles player, according to ATP rank ...
, Pospisil played No. 1 singles and doubles. He lost his first rubber in four sets, to
Iván Endara Iván Endara (; born 4 March 1988) is an Ecuadorian professional tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a ...
. With fellow British Columbian
Philip Bester Philip Bester (born October 6, 1988) is a Canadian former professional tennis player from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Bester was a finalist at the 2006 junior French Open. In doing so he became the first Canadian male to reach ...
also losing, Pospisil and veteran doubles specialist Daniel Nestor had to win their doubles match to keep the tie alive, and did, in three close sets. Perhaps buoyed by this win, Pospisil looked like a new player in beating
Júlio César Campozano Júlio is a Portuguese masculine given name. The equivalent in Spanish is Julio. The diminutive form is Julinho, as in Júlio César Teixeira known as Julinho, a Brazilian footballer. See also *Julio (disambiguation) *Julio (given name) *Julio ( ...
comfortably. Bester then won the tie-deciding rubber, also in straight sets. In July 2011, Pospisil won his tenth
ITF Men's Circuit The ITF World Tennis Tour (formerly known as the ''ITF Men's World Tennis Tour'', and previously ''ITF Men's Circuit'') is a series of professional tennis tournaments held around the world that are organized by the International Tennis Federation. ...
singles title in
Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...
, without dropping a set. In August 2011, Pospisil upset world No. 22
Juan Ignacio Chela Juan Ignacio Chela (; born 30 August 1979), nicknamed as “El Flaco” or “Liliano,” is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Chela was given a three-month ban from the professional tour in 2001 for failing a drugs test. Post-d ...
in the first round of the 2011 Rogers Cup, but lost in the second round to third seed
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
. In doubles, he and partner
Adil Shamasdin Adil Shamasdin ( ; born May 23, 1982) is a Canadian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He reached his highest doubles ranking of world No. 41 on June 26, 2017. Tennis career Shamasdin's junior career saw him finish ranked No. ...
lost in the first round. He also reached the second round of the 2011 US Open where he was defeated by
Feliciano López Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
. In January 2012, Pospisil qualified for the
Aircel Chennai Open The Maharashtra Open (known as Tata Open Maharashtra for sponsorship reasons) is a professional men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Pune, India. It is part of the ATP Tour 250 series on the ATP Tour. The inaugural event w ...
and lost in the first round of the main draw to Andreas Beck. He won his first ATP Challenger title in March 2012, defeating Maxime Authom. After this win, he entered the world's top 100 for the first time. His second Challenger title ( Granby, Canada) followed in July 2012, lifting Pospisil to world No. 85. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he lost to
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour ( ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...
in the first round of singles play and reached the second round in doubles with Daniel Nestor. He reached the second round of the 2012 Rogers Cup for the second straight year after upsetting world No. 26
Andreas Seppi Andreas Seppi (born 21 February 1984) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 on 28 January 2013. He became the first Italian to win a title on all three surfaces. Tennis ca ...
. He lost to world No. 10
Juan Mónaco Juan Mónaco (; born 29 March 1984), nicknamed "Pico", is an Argentine former tennis player. He won nine singles titles, reached the semifinals of the 2010 Shanghai Masters and the 2012 Miami Masters, and achieved a career-high singles ranking ...
in the next round.


2013: Breakthrough

Pospisil had to skip all tournaments in early 2013, including the Australian Open, due to mononucleosis. After recovery, he contributed to Canada's Davis Cup success by winning the doubles match against Italy with Daniel Nestor in April. At the beginning of May, he won his third ATP Challenger singles title and biggest to date when Michał Przysiężny retired in the third set in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
. Pospisil reached his first ATP semifinal in July at the Claro Open Colombia in Bogotá, but lost to local
Alejandro Falla Alejandro Falla Ramírez (; born 14 November 1983) is a retired professional male tennis player from Colombia. The left-hander turned pro in 2000 and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 48 in July 2012. At the 2006 Wimbledon t ...
. At the beginning of August, Pospisil won his second ATP Challenger of the year at the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, where he defeated Daniel Evans in the final. He entered the
Rogers Cup The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...
in Montréal as a wild card. In the first round against world No. 20
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
, he lost the first set, 5–7, but then won two tiebreaks to take the match. He followed this with a straight-set victory over
Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...
, and then surprised world No. 6
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champi ...
by upsetting him 7–6(7–5) in the third-set tiebreaker to reach the quarterfinals. This was Pospisil's first top-10 win. In the quarterfinals leading 3–0 in the first set, Pospisil's opponent
Nikolay Davydenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...
retired due to illness, thus making Pospisil a semifinalist. In the semifinals, he lost to compatriot
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
after a third-set tiebreak. With this result, Pospisil was ranked in the top 40 for the first time in his career. In
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, he defeated world No. 17
Gilles Simon Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. He had a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 6 attained on 5 January 2009. He turned professional in 2002 and won 14 singles titles on the ATP Tour. ...
in the first round, but succumbed to Belgian
David Goffin David Goffin (; born 7 December 1990) is a Belgian professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7. He is currently the Belgian No. 1, and the first Belgian man to be ranked in the top 10. Goffin has won six ATP titles ...
in the second round. At the US Open, he lost in the first round to Brazilian
Rogério Dutra Silva Rogério Dutra da Silva (; born February 3, 1984) is a former Brazilian professional tennis player. Dutra Silva had a career high ATP singles ranking of 63 achieved on July 24, 2017 and a career high ATP doubles ranking of 84 achieved on Febru ...
. In doubles, he and Daniel Nestor made it to the third round, where they were defeated by the
Bryan brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...
. In Davis Cup action against Serbia, he lost both of his singles rubbers against
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
and
Janko Tipsarević Janko Tipsarević ( sr-cyr, Јанко Типсаревић, ; born 22 June 1984) is a Serbian former tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 8, achieved on 2 April 2012. In his career, he won 4 ATP World Tour titles, one AT ...
, but won his doubles rubber, partnering Daniel Nestor. In October at the Masters 1000 in
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, Pospisil beat his second top-10 player when he defeated world No. 10
Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
in the first round. He lost to
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
in the next round. He reached the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors but was defeated by world No. 6
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
.


2014: Top 25 debut, Wimbledon doubles title and first ATP singles final

Pospisil began the year strongly by reaching the semifinals of the
Aircel Chennai Open The Maharashtra Open (known as Tata Open Maharashtra for sponsorship reasons) is a professional men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Pune, India. It is part of the ATP Tour 250 series on the ATP Tour. The inaugural event w ...
. He withdrew from his third round match at the Australian Open, where he was scheduled to play eventual champion
Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
, due to a back injury. He made a return at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, but lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round. He then lost his second-round match at the BNP Paribas Open to
Mikhail Kukushkin Mikhail Aleksandrovich Kukushkin (russian: link=no, Михаил Александрович Кукушкин; born 26 December 1987) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. Before 2008, he played for his country of birth, Russ ...
. Pospisil began his clay-court season at
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
, but lost in the first round to
Roberto Bautista Agut Roberto Bautista Agut (; born 14 April 1988) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in singles, which he first achieved on 4 November 2019. Bautista A ...
in straight sets. At Wimbledon, Pospisil lost in the first round of singles, losing to
Robin Haase Robin Haase (; born 6 April 1987) is a Dutch professional tennis player. He reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 33 in July 2012, and has won two singles titles, at the Austrian Open in both 2011 and 2012. Haase also reache ...
, but partnering American
Jack Sock Jack Sock (born September 24, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. He has won four career ATP singles titles and 17 doubles titles, and has career-high rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 20 November 2017) and world No. 2 in dou ...
, he won the men's doubles title, defeating the eighth, second, and fifth seeds en route to the final, where they defeated the defending champions the
Bryan brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...
in five sets. Pospisil and Sock won their second straight doubles title with a victory over Steve Johnson and
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
at the BB&T Atlanta Open. Pospisil reached his first ATP singles final at the Citi Open a week later with wins over Rajeev Ram, world No. 5
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champi ...
,
Santiago Giraldo Santiago Giraldo Salazar (, born 27 November 1987) is a retired Colombian professional tennis player. He played on the ATP tour and represented Colombia in the Davis Cup competition. His best tournament result is reaching the final in the 2014 ...
and world No. 14
Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
. He was defeated by world No. 7
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
in the first all-Canadian final in ATP history. Pospisil and Sock reached their third straight final at the Cincinnati Masters, but were defeated by the
Bryan brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...
in straight sets, ending their record winning streak for a debut team at 14. In October at the China Open, he reached the doubles final with
Julien Benneteau Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is ATP world no. 25, which he reached in November 2014. He formerly resided in Boulogne-Billancourt and ...
, but the duo was defeated in three sets by
Jean-Julien Rojer Jean-Julien Rojer (; ; born 25 August 1981) is a Dutch professional tennis player from Curaçao, who specialises in doubles. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 3 in November 2015. He is a four-time Grand Slam champion, hav ...
and
Horia Tecău Horia Tecău (; born January 19, 1985) is a Romanian former professional tennis player who specialised in doubles. He is a three-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2015 Wimbledon Championships and 2017 US Open alongside Jean-Julien Roje ...
. At the end of the month, Pospisil won his third doubles title of the season at the Swiss Indoors with
Nenad Zimonjić Nenad Zimonjić ( sr-Cyrl, Ненад Зимоњић, ; born 4 June 1976) is a Serbian former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles. He is an eight-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2008 and 2009 Wimbledon Cha ...
.


2015: First Grand Slam quarterfinal in singles

Pospisil started his 2015 season at the
Hopman Cup The Hopman Cup is an international eight-team indoor hardcourt tennis tournament that played mixed-gender teams on a country-by-country basis.It was held in Perth, Western Australia each year from 1989 to 2019, before being replaced on the calen ...
, representing Canada with
Eugenie Bouchard Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard (; french: Eugénie Bouchard, ; born February 25, 1994) is a Canadian tennis player. At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, she became the first Canadian-born player representing Canada to reach the final of a Grand Slam t ...
. He won his three singles matches, but Canada finished third in their group and was eliminated from the competition. A week later, Pospisil entered the Apia International, losing to fourth seed
Julien Benneteau Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is ATP world no. 25, which he reached in November 2014. He formerly resided in Boulogne-Billancourt and ...
in straight sets in the second round. At the Australian Open, Pospisil reached the third round for the second straight year, but lost to
Guillermo García López Guillermo García López (, born 4 June 1983) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He has won five singles titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 23 in February 2011. As of 2021, he has collected thirteen w ...
in straight sets. In doubles, Pospisil and partner
Julian Knowle Julian Knowle (born 29 April 1974) is an Austrian former male professional tennis player. Being a born left-hander, Knowle was one of the few on the ATP Tour who played his forehand, backhand, and even volleys double-handed. He was Austria's ...
advanced to the second round; however, they had to retire from this match. At Indian Wells in March, Pospisil and Sock won their third doubles title together, and their first Masters 1000, after defeating Simone Bolelli and
Fabio Fognini Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. He is currently ranked (July 2022) in 64th place by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...
. At the Miami Open a week later, Pospisil and Sock reached their second consecutive Masters 1000 final, but lost to the
Bryan brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...
. Following this tournament, Pospisil's world doubles ranking rose to No. 5, and in doing so, he became the first Canadian in approximately 14 years to overtake Daniel Nestor as the country's top-ranked doubles player. At Wimbledon, Pospisil reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his singles career. Pospisil beat French qualifier
Vincent Millot Vincent Millot (; born 30 January 1986, in Montpellier, France) is a French former professional tennis player. Despite never having reached the top 100, Millot has played at each of the four Grand Slam events. Career statistics ATP Challenger To ...
, 30th seed
Fabio Fognini Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. He is currently ranked (July 2022) in 64th place by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...
, local wildcard James Ward, and 22nd seed
Viktor Troicki Viktor Troicki ( sr-Cyrl, Виктор Троицки, ; born 10 February 1986) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup, and his second and third ATP singles titles at the 2015 a ...
. All matches extended to five sets except the one against Fognini. He was defeated in the quarterfinals by world No. 3 Andy Murray in straight sets. In doubles, Pospisil, who was the defending champion with his American partner
Jack Sock Jack Sock (born September 24, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. He has won four career ATP singles titles and 17 doubles titles, and has career-high rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 20 November 2017) and world No. 2 in dou ...
, lost to the 13th seeded and eventual runners-up
Jamie Murray Jamie Robert Murray, (born 13 February 1986) is a Scottish professional tennis player from Scotland who specialises in doubles. He is a seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion (five in mixed doubles and two in men's doubles), a Davis Cup win ...
and
John Peers John William Peers (born 25 July 1988) is an Australian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, where he and Henri Kontinen won the men's doubles event. Peers also ...
in the third round. At the China Open in October, Pospisil won his second doubles title of the season when he defeated, with Sock, fellow Canadian Daniel Nestor and
Édouard Roger-Vasselin Édouard Roger-Vasselin (; born 28 November 1983) is a French professional tennis player who primarily specialises in doubles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2014 French Open, winning the men's doubles partnering Julien Benneteau, a ...
in the final. The next week, Pospisil reached the second round of the Shanghai Masters, losing to 11th seed
Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
in three sets. In doubles, Pospisil and Sock were knocked out in the first round by the Australian pair of Nick Kyrgios and
Bernard Tomic Bernard Tomic (; hr, Bernard Tomić, ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player whose career-high ranking was world No. 17. As a junior, Tomic enjoyed a successful career in which he won an Orange Bowl title and two ju ...
. At his last tournament of the year, the
Valencia Open The Valencia Open, formerly known as Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana, was a professional men's tennis tournament played in Valencia, Spain. It was part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. The tournament was first played in ...
, Pospisil reached the semifinals, where he lost to
João Sousa João Pedro Coelho Marinho de Sousa (born 30 March 1989), known as João Sousa (), is a Portuguese professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 28 on 16 May 2016 and a doubles ranking of No. 26 on 13 May 2 ...
.


2016: Inconsistencies

Pospisil started his 2016 season at the
Chennai Open Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
as the seventh seed, but was defeated by
Aljaž Bedene Aljaž Bedene (born 18 July 1989) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. He was British nationality law, a naturalised Briton and played with this nationality from 2015 to 2017, returning to represent Slovenia in 2018. Bedene has won ...
in the first round. A week later at the Auckland Open, he won his first match of the year against seventh seed
Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a former Croatian professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint tallest ranked tennis player in history, along with Reilly Opelka. He has won eight ATP sin ...
, before falling to doubles partner Sock in straight sets in the next round. At the Australian Open, he lost his first-round match to world No. 15
Gilles Simon Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. He had a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 6 attained on 5 January 2009. He turned professional in 2002 and won 14 singles titles on the ATP Tour. ...
in four sets. At the
Rotterdam Open The Rotterdam Open, also known by its sponsored name ABN AMRO Open, and formely known as: ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament (1991-2021), is a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is part of the ATP Tour 500 series ...
in February, Pospisil won the sixth doubles title of his career, his first with
Nicolas Mahut Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (; born 21 January 1982) is a French professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having completed the career Grand Slam with victories at the ...
. At the
Indian Wells Masters The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is ...
in March, Pospisil reached the second round in singles and the final in doubles. In May at the
Rome Masters The Italian Open ( it, Internazionali d'Italia; literally: ''Italy's Internationals''), originally called the Italian International Championships, is a tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is one of the most important clay tennis tournament ...
, Pospisil was defeated in the opening round in singles and finished runner-up in doubles with Sock. At the French Open, he lost in the first round in singles and in the second round in doubles. At Wimbledon, Pospisil was again defeated in the first round, this time to
Albert Ramos Viñolas Albert Ramos Viñolas (; born 17 January 1988) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked in the top 40 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 17, ...
in four sets. He reached the third round of the doubles event. At the
Rogers Cup The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...
, Pospisil beat
Jérémy Chardy Jérémy Chardy (; born 12 February 1987) is a French inactive professional tennis player. He has won one ATP Tour singles title, in Stuttgart in 2009. His best Grand Slam performance in singles was reaching the quarterfinals of the 2013 Austral ...
in the opening round but lost to
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
in the next round. At the Olympics, he lost in the opening round in singles once again to Monfils and in the bronze medal match in doubles with Daniel Nestor. In September, Pospisil advanced to the second round of the US Open in singles. At the Shanghai Rolex Masters in October, he reached the third round in singles of a Masters 1000 for the second time of his career, defeating respectively world No. 20
Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a former Croatian professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint tallest ranked tennis player in history, along with Reilly Opelka. He has won eight ATP sin ...
and world No. 18
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...
.


2017: Mixed results

During the offseason, Pospisil hired Hall of Famer
Mark Woodforde Mark Raymond Woodforde, OAM (born 23 September 1965) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. He is best known as one half of " The Woodies", a doubles partnership with Todd Woodbridge. Woodforde was born in Adelaide, and joine ...
to be his new coach. At his first tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, he reached the doubles final with
Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...
. In February, he won his two singles matches at the Davis Cup World Group over top 50 players
Kyle Edmund Kyle Steven Edmund (born 8 January 1995) is a South African born-British professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 14 and was the top-ranked male British tennis player from March 2018 through October 2019. E ...
and Dan Evans. The next week at the ATP Challenger 100K in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, Pospisil made it to the singles final where he was defeated by
Zhang Ze Zhang Ze (; ; born July 4, 1990), is a Chinese male tennis player. Zhang's career highlights include reaching the quarterfinals of the 2012 China Open (defeating Richard Gasquet en route), playing the Australian Open main draw in two consec ...
in three sets. At the Masters 1000 BNP Paribas Open in March, Pospisil qualified for the main draw and defeated
Lu Yen-hsun Lu Yen-hsun (; born 14 August 1983) is a Taiwanese retired professional tennis player, who goes by the nickname Rendy Lu. He won the most titles on the ATP Challenger Tour in tennis history. His favorite surface is hardcourt, though several o ...
in the opening round. In the second round, he upset world No. 1 Andy Murray in straight sets, his first win over a top-10 player since 2014. He lost to fellow qualifier Dušan Lajović in the next round. In May, Pospisil won his fifth ATP Challenger singles title in straight sets over Go Soeda at the 150K in
Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
. In June at the Ricoh Open, he advanced to his first ATP quarterfinal of the season but was defeated by world No. 7
Marin Čilić Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Čilić has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including a major at the 2014 US Open. He was also runner-up at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Austral ...
.


2018: Two more ATP Challenger wins

Pospisil won the sixth ATP Challenger of his career with a victory over
Ričardas Berankis Ričardas Berankis (; born June 21, 1990) is a Lithuanian professional tennis player. He is the first and only Lithuanian citizen (not counting Lithuanian American Vitas Gerulaitis) to enter the ATP top 50 rankings, making him the highest ran ...
at the
Open de Rennes The Open de Rennes is a tennis List of tennis tournaments, tournament held in Rennes, France since 2006. The event is part of the ATP Challenger Series, ''challenger series and is played on indoor hard courts. Past finals Singles Doubles Ex ...
. In February, he won his second ATP Challenger title of the season after defeating
Nicola Kuhn Nicola Kuhn (; ; born 20 March 2000) is an Austrian-born German tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 174, achieved on 7 October 2019 and a doubles ranking of World No. 287 achieved on 28 January 2019. Personal l ...
in the final in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. In May, he advanced to his third ATP Challenger final of the season, losing to
Yoshihito Nishioka is a Japanese tennis player. He has won two ATP Tour singles titles and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 36 on 7 November 2022. He is currently the No. 1 Japanese player. Career Junior career As a junior, he compiled a ...
in
Gimcheon Gimcheon (; , trans., 'gold spring city') is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is situated on the major land transportation routes between Seoul and Busan, namely the Gyeongbu Expressway and Gyeongbu Line railway. In ancient ...
. The next week, Pospisil reached the final in
Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
for the second straight year, but was not able to defend his title with a loss to
Matthew Ebden Matthew Ebden (born 26 November 1987) is an Australian professional tennis player. He is a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2022 Wimbledon Championships in men's doubles alongside Max Purcell, and the 2013 Australian Open in mixe ...
.


2019: Back surgery and Davis Cup final

In January, Pospisil underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk. Recovery from the surgery kept him sidelined until the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost in the first round to
Félix Auger-Aliassime Félix Auger-Aliassime (; born August 8, 2000) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He is the second-youngest player ranked in the top 10 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and has a career-high singles ranking of No. 6, whic ...
. At the 2019 US Open, Pospisil beat ninth seed
Karen Khachanov Karen Abgarovich Khachanov (russian: Каре́н Абга́рович Хача́нов; born 21 May 1996) is a Russian professional tennis player. Khachanov has won four ATP Tour singles titles, including a Masters 1000 title at the 2018 Paris ...
in the first round. In the
2019 Davis Cup Finals The Finals, formerly known as World Group, was the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 2019. It was held on indoor hard courts at the Caja Mágica in Madrid, Spain from 18 until 24 November. The ties were contested in a best-of-three rubb ...
, he and
Denis Shapovalov Denis Viktorovich Shapovalov (born 15 April 1999) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 10 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) which he first achieved in September 2020. He is t ...
teamed up to take Canada to its first-ever Davis Cup final in the 119-year history of the event, defeating Russia, Australia, the United States and Italy en route to the finals.


2020: First singles final since 2014, 7th career doubles title, US Open fourth round, ATP comeback player of the year

In Montpellier, Pospisil, entered using a protected ranking, and defeated
Aljaž Bedene Aljaž Bedene (born 18 July 1989) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. He was British nationality law, a naturalised Briton and played with this nationality from 2015 to 2017, returning to represent Slovenia in 2018. Bedene has won ...
,
Denis Shapovalov Denis Viktorovich Shapovalov (born 15 April 1999) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 10 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) which he first achieved in September 2020. He is t ...
, and
Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
all in straight sets, before upsetting world number 10
David Goffin David Goffin (; born 7 December 1990) is a Belgian professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7. He is currently the Belgian No. 1, and the first Belgian man to be ranked in the top 10. Goffin has won six ATP titles ...
in three sets to advance to his first final since
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
in 2014. He lost to top seed
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
in straight sets 7–5, 6–3. In his next tournament, 2020 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament he pulled off one of the biggest upsets of his career by defeating top seed
Daniil Medvedev Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev (russian: Даниил Сергеевич Медведев; born 11 February 1996) is a Russian professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 7 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and was ...
6–4, 6–3 making it his third top 5 victory of his career. He would go on to lose in the second round to
Filip Krajinović Filip Krajinović (, ; born 27 February 1992) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 26 on 23 April 2018.
. In his third tournament in February, 2020 Open 13 Pospisil again used his protected ranking to gain direct entry to the main draw, where he defeated lucky loser
Emil Ruusuvuori Emil Ruusuvuori (; born 2 April 1999) is a Finnish professional tennis player. He reached a career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 41 on 31 October 2022. He is currently the No. 1 Finnish singles tennis player. He has a career-high double ...
and 8th seed
Hubert Hurkacz Hubert Hurkacz (; born 11 February 1997) is a Polish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved in November 2021, making him the high ...
before falling to 2nd seed and eventual champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals. Unseeded in doubles, he and partner
Nicolas Mahut Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (; born 21 January 1982) is a French professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having completed the career Grand Slam with victories at the ...
would go on to win the title, defeating the 4th, 1st and 2nd seeds respectively en route. At the 2020 US Open, Pospisil reached the fourth round for the first time in his career after beating
Philipp Kohlschreiber Philipp Eberhard Hermann Kohlschreiber (; born 16 October 1983) is a German former professional tennis player. The right-hander won eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ATP World Tour and made the quarterfinals at the 2012 Wimbledon Cha ...
, 25th seed
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
in four sets and then upsetting 8th seed,
Roberto Bautista Agut Roberto Bautista Agut (; born 14 April 1988) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in singles, which he first achieved on 4 November 2019. Bautista A ...
in a five set thriller. In the fourth round, he lost to
Alex de Minaur Alex de Minaur ( ; es, Álex de Miñaur Román, ; born 17 February 1999) is an Australian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 15 on 28 June 2021 and a doubles ranking of No. 58 on 12 October 2020. ...
in straight sets. In his last tournament of the season 2020 Sofia Open, he entered the main draw unseeded and defeated
Illya Marchenko Illya Vasylovych Marchenko ( uk, Ілля Васильович Марченко) (born 8 September 1987) is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. Marchenko turned professional in 2005 and had been playing at the Futures and Challengers level f ...
,
Jan-Lennard Struff Jan-Lennard Struff (; born 25 April 1990) is a German professional tennis player. He reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 29 in August 2020. In doubles, he achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 in October 2018. He ha ...
,
John Millman John H. Millman OLY (born 14 June 1989) is an Australian professional tennis player and commentator. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 in October 2018. He has won one ATP title in his career. Personal life Millman ...
and
Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
en route to his second singles final of the season and third of his career. He would ultimately fall to
Jannik Sinner Jannik Sinner (; ; born 16 August 2001) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 1 November 2021, and world No. 124 in doubles, achieved on 2 ...
in three back and forth tight sets 4–6, 6–3, 6–7 (3-7) . Pospisil would end the year ranked No. 61 in the world, his highest year end ranking since 2015 and was named Comeback Player of the Year in the
ATP Awards This is a list of all the awards given by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) to players and others of particular distinction during a given season. Player & Team of the Year The ATP Player and Team of the Year awards are presently give ...
voted on by his peers.


2021: Fifteenth doubles final and downfall

Pospisil played his first tournament of the year at the
2021 Australian Open The 2021 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park, on 8–21 February 2021. It was the 109th edition of the Australian Open, the 53rd in the Open Era, and the first Major tournament of the year. It w ...
. In singles, he faced 4th seed and eventual finalist
Daniil Medvedev Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev (russian: Даниил Сергеевич Медведев; born 11 February 1996) is a Russian professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 7 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and was ...
which he lost in straight sets. He partnered
Denis Shapovalov Denis Viktorovich Shapovalov (born 15 April 1999) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 10 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) which he first achieved in September 2020. He is t ...
in the doubles but fell in the second round to
Nicholas Monroe Benjamin Nicholas Monroe (born April 12, 1982) is an American professional tennis player. He has won 4 ATP World Tour doubles titles and 13 ATP Challenger Tour titles in his career. College career Monroe had a highly successful college caree ...
and
Frances Tiafoe Frances Tiafoe Jr. ( ; born January 20, 1998) is an American professional tennis player. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has ranked Tiafoe as high as world No. 17 in singles, on October 10, 2022, and world No. 160 in doubles, on No ...
in three sets. Partnering
Austin Krajicek Austin Krajicek (born June 16, 1990) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP ranking in doubles of World No. 9 achieved on 7 November 2022 and in singles of World No. 94 achieved on October 26, 2015. He is a distant c ...
, Pospisil reached his fifteenth final at the
2021 Hall of Fame Open The 2021 Hall of Fame Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 45th edition of the event, and part of the 250 series of the 2021 ATP Tour. It took place at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rh ...
where he lost to Americans
Jack Sock Jack Sock (born September 24, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. He has won four career ATP singles titles and 17 doubles titles, and has career-high rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 20 November 2017) and world No. 2 in dou ...
and William Blumberg. Pospisil failed to capitalize on his success in 2020. He began to suffer injuries again and played few tournaments. His best singles showing was a quarterfinal appearance at the
2021 Eastbourne International The 2021 Eastbourne International (also known as the Viking International Eastbourne for sponsorship reasons) was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 46th edition of the event for the women and ...
where he lost to 2nd seed and eventual champion
Alex de Minaur Alex de Minaur ( ; es, Álex de Miñaur Román, ; born 17 February 1999) is an Australian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 15 on 28 June 2021 and a doubles ranking of No. 58 on 12 October 2020. ...
in straight sets. In the end, his ranking fell back down below the top 100 to 133. Pospisil reappeared for Canada in the
2021 Davis Cup Finals The Finals, formerly known as World Group, was the highest level of Davis Cup competition in 2021. It was held on indoor hard courts at three venues in Innsbruck, Austria, Madrid, Spain and Turin, Italy. The 2020 edition was originally scheduled ...
where he lost two singles matches and one doubles match as Canada was eliminated in the group stage.


2022: Struggles, Challenger success, back to top 100, Davis Cup winner

Pospisil only played singles in 2022. He backed out of both the Australian Open and French Open. He only qualified for one ATP tournament which was the
2022 Dallas Open The 2022 Dallas Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the inaugural edition of the Dallas Open, and part of the ATP Tour 250 series on the 2022 ATP Tour. It took place at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex ...
where he made the quarterfinals and lost to 3rd seed
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
in straight sets. Despite this, he won his first Challenger title since 2019 at the 2022 Open Quimper Bretange and made the final at the 2022 Teréga Open Pau–Pyrénées losing to 7th seed
Quentin Halys Quentin Halys (; born 26 October 1996) is a French professional tennis player. Halys has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 64 achieved on 21 November 2022 and a doubles ranking of No. 129 achieved on 3 October 2022. He has won six ...
in straight sets. In late March, Pospisil suffered an elbow injury which sidelined him once again. He was expected to return to the tour in June. In September, as a lucky loser, Pospisil reached quarterfinals of
Tel Aviv Open The Tel Aviv Open is an ATP World Tour affiliated tennis tournament. It was played from 1978 through 1981 and 1983 through 1996 and was to be resumed in 2014, marking the end of the tournament in St. Petersburg, however, the 2014 edition was canc ...
, where he lost in straight sets to No. 1 seed
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
, who played his first official tournament since winning Wimbledon. In November, he won the title at the
Challenger de Drummondville The Challenger de Drummondville, currently sponsored as Challenger Banque Nationale de Drummondville, is a professional tennis tournament held in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada since 2015. It was held in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada from 2006 to 2014. ...
and finished the year ranked in the top 100. In November, at the 2022 Davis Cup, Pospisil teamed up with
Félix Auger-Aliassime Félix Auger-Aliassime (; born August 8, 2000) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He is the second-youngest player ranked in the top 10 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and has a career-high singles ranking of No. 6, whic ...
and
Denis Shapovalov Denis Viktorovich Shapovalov (born 15 April 1999) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 10 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) which he first achieved in September 2020. He is t ...
to give Canada its first ever Davis Cup Finals title. Canada defeated Australia in the finals after winning against Germany and Italy during the week in earlier knock-out rounds.https://www.daviscup.com/en/news/328489.aspx


Career statistics


Singles

Notes *1 Pospisil's
2014 Australian Open The 2014 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 13 and 26 January 2014. It was the 102nd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of even ...
withdrawal in the third round does not count as a loss.


Doubles


Coaches


Notes


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pospisil, Vasek 1990 births Living people Canadian male tennis players Canadian people of Czech descent Racket sportspeople from British Columbia Sportspeople from Vernon, British Columbia Sportspeople from Vancouver Wimbledon champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Olympic tennis players of Canada Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Hopman Cup competitors