Vasek’s climb to the top began when his parents, Milos and Mila Pospisil, fled communist Czechoslovakia in 1988. They ended up in Canada, where two years later, Vasek was born.
If you enjoyed the 2021 movie King Richard — where Richard Williams is determined to write his daughters Venus and Serena into history — you will love this story.
Vasek started as a ball boy as his father coached his older brothers in tennis. By age six, he was winning international tournaments in the 12-and-under circuit.
His rise to the top tennis ranks would take years and come with many setbacks. But along the way, Vasek learned not only how to compete against the likes of Federer and Djokovic, he learned about himself as a person and a player. Vasek even saw career-threatening injuries as opportunities to take time to learn about life and to fight for others.
Recognizing only the top 100 athletes typically make a living in a multi-billion-dollar sport, he teamed up with Novak Djokovic in 2020 to form a grassroots movement to help protect player interests. And in 2022, Vasek and his Canadian teammates won the Davis Cup and ATP Cup in the same year — something no country had done before.
A gifted athlete with a rounded outlook on life and a desire to fight for others in his sport, Pospisil’s off-the-court actions and advocacy are just as impressive as his on-the-court achievements.
Chatter That Matters is hosted by the Marketing Hall of Legends and the Canadian Marketing and PR Hall of Fame Inductee Tony Chapman. Tony wants to counter the storm of negativity and a growing sense of impossibility by sharing true stories of possibility and positivity. Stories of people who make things happen, despite today’s challenging circumstances. In doing so, he hopes their life lessons inspire others to do more and to be more. RBC is the presenting sponsor.
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