The Ben Mulroney Show - A Canadian tennis star announces his retirement

Episode Date: July 22, 2025

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Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney show. Career reinvention is something that a lot of people have to go through. I've gone through it myself. It can be really difficult to imagine, you know, your identity can be wrapped up in in what you do and how the world sees you and and acknowledging that it's time to turn the page and try your identity can be wrapped up in what you do and how the world sees you and acknowledging that it's time to turn the page and try something different can be really difficult. And I have to imagine that for a professional athlete, it's got to be even more difficult. And I'm so pleased to be joined by one of the great tennis players that

this country has ever produced, who is a great person. He's a great Canadian. He's been a great tennis player. And on the eve of his final match here in Canada, he's turning the page on a professional tennis career. And we're going to be talking to him about everything that came before and what is to come next. Please welcome to the Ben Mulroney show, Vasik Pasupasil. Thanks so much for being here, Vasik. Thanks for having me. All right. So, so congratulations on a great career. It's ending after the national bank open. Is that what it's called? The national bank open here in Toronto.

So break it down for me. Take me back to the beginning. How long has your professional career been? It's been 18 years, 18 years professionally and playing tennis for 30 years. Wow. Yeah. My whole life. So you've been playing tennis your whole life. Talk to me about how do you come to this decision? How do you decide, okay, it's time to do something different? Yeah, it's never easy. I think everyone goes through a different path. For me, you know, of course, I'm 35 now, which is, which is,

You look 22. Yeah, well, thank you. Trying to be healthy. I'm trying to eat well. Um, yeah. And I just, I just felt burned out. I mean, mentally, physically, tons of injuries, especially the last three years I've tried to come

back, uh, multiple times. I've had three separate elbow tears and eventually, you know, that wears you down, uh, mentally as well. And, and I think combining that along with just, you know, getting involved in business the last four or five years and my passion for the game has just, you know, has decreased substantially.

The fire in you to go out there and compete each and every day has become something different. Exactly. And I think being self-aware enough is it can sometimes there are a lot of athletes who are so they are such competitive beasts that that everything else disappears it's that that desire to keep fighting despite the physical limitations despite age despite everything else they they can't see that the right course of action the smart thing to do would be to hang it up yeah exactly and i mean it can be it can be backing that's part of it for sure and And then also, you know, many athletes don't necessarily have anything next.

Right? So, I mean, I see it even today. There's guys that I'm sure that maybe realize that they're not going to, you know, accomplish anything greater than they already have. But they, they feel like, well, if I stop playing now, what am I going to do? And my whole identity is tied to this sport. So they try to, I would say, you know, in some ways milk it to the end or as long as they can. And for me, I mean, there's so much more to life in general and so many things that I still want to pursue

and accomplish in my lifetime, and including having a family and getting involved in business. So I felt like, you know, the juice wasn't, isn't worth the squeeze at this point to keep going. You know, I've had so many conversations with friends. We have these like big, big conversations. If you could be a professional athlete in any sport, what sport would offer you like the best life and I always thought tennis was the one

because the places you could travel and and I don't know being outdoors all the time and having that one on one thing. I mean, it's not part of being a necessary part of a team, but having your own team that works with you competing against the best in the world. Obviously, the financial upside is great as well for you as somebody who actually live that life. When you look back, what are the moments, what are the things about being a professional tennis player that you remember as being just the best? Yeah, it's it is an incredible sport.

There's no there's no sport like it. I mean, but, you know, it's very tough. It's very draining because you're on the road nonstop. I mean, you start, you know, end of December, you're flying to Australia and then you finish the year, you know, mid to late November. So you there's many sacrifices that come with it. But the good parts, I mean, you do get to see the world. You make incredible friends. So there's many sacrifices that come with it, but the good parts, I mean, you do get to see the world. You make incredible friends. I mean, you see, obviously, if you reach the top of the game, then the lifestyle is great.

And I mean, for me, the best moments at the end of the day are just the people that I got to meet and be around, and playing with Davis Cup team and being in a locker room with those guys, uh, super special. Um, and you know, it's, it's easy to take things for granted, right? That's, that's the, it's, it's, it's, it's not, um, so often that you kind of stop in your tracks and reflect and, and realize and be grateful for, you know, where you are today and where you were, let's say 10 years ago and the dreams that you had. And so it's something that I've tried to remember

throughout the course of my career. It's easier said than done sometimes because you're always looking to the next thing and you want to achieve more and more and you put all this pressure on yourself. But I think that's really kind of, it's been hitting me pretty hard the last couple of weeks. What was your favorite tournament to play?

That's changed over the years. It's a moving target. Yeah you know at first I mean it's always always Canada, always the Masters event you know Toronto, Montreal it's always my favorite, home crowd support that's always number one but early years was Wimbledon. Yeah. Why was it the the pomp and circumstance? Was it the the the royal thing? Was it the grass? What was it? Yeah the tradition, the grass, the all-whites, the you know it's the biggest tournament in the world. So and you know I mean as a kid you're watching Wimbledon as you're as the biggest, the tournament to win, the tournament to compete at. So when you're finally there it's pretty surreal.

And then of course, just like everything, eventually that, you know, when you've been there four or five, six times, you know, you start to get used to it. Are you? Yeah. So for me, it went, it moved to the US Open. US Open became my favorite tournament. That's a party, right?

The audience is so raucous. Exactly, because of the atmosphere. I love playing in front of loud you know, loud crowds and huge, you know, and so many Canadians come down and watch and cheer. So it was so in a funny way, it felt like a home tournament. Unless I was playing American, then it was like 50, 50. There are so many Canadians that it would be. Now I could ask you like what your favorite memory is, but I think the more interesting is what memory does your family hold in the highest esteem? What part of your career gives your family the most pride?

Wow, that's a, you know, I've never even asked my dad that question or my family in general, but I would, I would guess, um, that it would be the Wimbledon title in 2014. And then, um, and then of course, Davis Cup, winning Davis Cup for Canada for the first time in history. I would say, I guess Wimbledon was probably first just because I was still quite young, I was 2014. And then Davis Cup happened in 2022 more, you know, just a couple of years ago

at the end of my career really. So, but those are the two top ones I would They were so years ago, Daniel Craig had just finished shooting and then promoting a James Bond movie. And immediately the press was asking him, are you going to do another one? And his reaction was immediate and guttural. He's like, absolutely not. I'm done. And people got very offended by that. And he eventually after a few weeks, you know, he walked it back and he said, Look, when you ask somebody who just finished a marathon, are they looking forward to doing the next marathon? Of course, they're

going to say no, because they're in pain. And but you've got to give a little bit of time for that pain to go away for it to become an echo, eventually a memory. And at that ask me then and then of course, he came back and did another movie. Is there a part of you that's concerned that if you're gone, if you leave the sport after a little while, you're gonna miss it? Yeah, there is for sure.

I mean, right now where my mental state is, I just like can't wait. I can't wait to like get it out. Of course, because you've just been doing it for so long. Exactly, and I like, so I do think right now, where my mental state is, I just like, can't wait. You know, I can't wait to like, you know, exactly. And like, so I do think that will that I'll reach a point where I'll definitely, I'll miss it for sure. And I'll always be stay close to the sport. I mean, it's I'm an expert in tennis, right? So it's and I've been, it's been my lifelong passion for so many years.

And yeah, maybe now I'm a bit burned out, but I, like you said, I think maybe in a couple of years, I'll that fire in me will reignite in some way. Maybe I won't make a comeback on tour, but maybe who knows? I don't know. No, just kidding. But yeah, but, but like you said, I mean, I'm sure it's been such a big part of my life that it's, it's only natural that I'll that I'll, you know, definitely miss it and want to come back in some way. Well, Vasik Paspasila is not going anywhere. We're going to continue this conversation after break.

I want to ask you about the state of Canadian tennis today. There's a lot of great players out there and what your thoughts are on the future for Canadian tennis, as well as when you've talked a couple of times about your business dealings. I want to ask you about some of those. This is a I'm so happy that you're here on the to celebrate your swan song. So don't go anywhere. This is the Ben Mulroney show in conversation with Vasik Pospisil. Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney show we are in conversation with one of the great tennis players that this country has ever produced

Vasik Pospisil on the eve of his final tournament before he retires. Vashik, thanks so much for being here. We talked a little bit about tennis in general, but talk to me about being that great Canadian hope. Because there are a number of great Canadians playing tennis right now, but it seems like anytime somebody performs really well early in their career, we throw all of our national aspirations on them. And it's such a young age. It's not like there's a dozen Canadian players out there that who on whom we can spread the pressure in a lot of cases, and depending on time, it could be just that one person. Talk to me about what it felt like when all of a sudden you wake up one day, you've been doing really well on the tour and next thing you know, everybody in this country has decided that

you are going to run the table and you're going to be the number one player in the world. Yeah, it's funny, you know, it's this human emotion, right? It's you, when you break through, when there's a new face on tour, then everyone thinks, okay, this is it. This is the golden child. This is the one that's gonna break records or win tournaments for us. And reality is when you're that player, I mean, you're breaking onto the scene with, first of all, no pressure, right?

You're full of confidence. So you're on some kind of a run, you're winning a bunch of matches. And I wouldn't necessarily say, at least for me when I broke through, I wouldn't necessarily say that I, that it was the pressure of, you know, a nation or fans or, or anyone around me really that, that, that would, you know, get a little bit of confidence, you lose a couple of matches. There's young guys coming in, you know, there's, it's, the reality is, is that it's a very, very competitive, tough sport. And just because you have a run or you do an

incredible, you know, result somewhere, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be just day in and day out producing those results. Cause it like, you know, an individual sport, uh, one-on-one, um, you know, an individual sport, uh, one on one, um, you know, if you're two, 3%, if you wake up and you're stressed or something going on in your life or whatever it is, you know, that, that will reveal itself on the tennis court. You know, sometimes, uh, in, in order to show a sport, how much you love that sport,

you've got to hold a mirror up and say, you're not doing everything you can. You're not, you are not doing right by your players. And you've sort of taken on the mantle of player advocacy as well. Talk to me about that work. Yeah, it's, it's taken a lot of energy out of me. I'll tell you that. And definitely one of the reasons why I've burned out as quickly as I have, I would say quickly as much as I have, let's say. But, but yeah, I mean, tennis is a broken sport. I mean, you don't see it through... I mean, that's a big statement to say tennis is broken. It is, and when I say that, I mean, the sport itself is incredible.

I mean, it's amazing. Look at the fans, you know, these events. It is incredible, but, you know, the reality is, is when you look under the hood and when you've been around for as long as I have and as close to the game as I have, and you see all the issues, and you see what a tennis could be, I mean, it's the third most or fourth most watched sport in the world. And it's not, from a business perspective, it's not doing nearly as well as sports that are even less watched or less popular or... But what needs to change? Well, what needs to change for me, I mean, initially the main thing was, was from the player side. I mean, the players are, you know, they're deemed, they're considered label as independent contractors, but they're treated as employees. They have all these restrictions. We have no, um, you know, financial transparency. we don't really have a true seat at the table.

So, you know, hence, you know, the percentage of revenue that goes back to the athletes is amongst the lowest in tennis. So who's making the money? The events, the events, the term and owners, you know, whoever's controlling the media, the data rights, I mean, the players aren't getting a proper piece of that. And then I think that, and then you look at tennis and you say, okay, it's a multi-billion dollar industry and there's only 100 players that are able to earn a living.

I mean, there's exponentially more people earning a living from tennis that aren't players and they're even doing it part-time. There's something very wrong with that. And for me And so what steps have you taken to address that? Well, one, you know, I tried to galvanize the players, you know, get them, which was very time consuming, but easy to do because, you know, we're all like-minded and everyone can see the issues. And, you know, started the first player association and now we've actually, you know, dropped the first major lawsuit in tennis history, I guess you could say.

And so we'll see how that goes, but we're very confident, the lords are very confident and I just think- Do you have a sense of when that's gonna get resolved? Well, we'll go, you know, as long as it takes. As long as it takes, it to get resolved? Well, we'll go, you know, as long as it takes, as long as it takes. It could get resolved tomorrow if, if, if, you know, if, uh, the tennis tours decide that they want to have conversations or it could be a few years. I mean, the, the bottom line is, is that, um, you, it's just wrong that you have such a major

sport, major business, and there are so few players that are able to make a living and they're struggling and cutting costs and sharing hotel rooms. And if you're not in the top 100, if you're 130 in the world, you're maybe breaking even and you're breaking even by cutting costs. Vashjik, there are so many entrenched, very powerful forces in all sports,

and I have to assume tennis is no different. Did any of those powerful forces or people try to shut you down? Well, it's funny. It was when I first told my parents that I was going to do this, they were not happy about it. Don't rock the boat. Don't rock the boat.

This is that, don't bite the hand that feeds you. They were not happy. And I had a theory and I told them because there were multiple player uprisings, quote unquote, over the years that were squashed because there was just the forces of you're just too powerful. Yeah. They're just too powerful. They have too many tons of, I mean, if we get into all the details, like conflicts of interest and how they're controlling players in different ways. And so, yeah, but I had a theory. I told my parents, I was like, don't worry, because they're not going to take me seriously.

They're going to completely underestimate me. By the time they realize that it's actually a thing, I'm not going to matter, right? Like I mean, it's going to be bigger. Yeah. It's going to be a much bigger thing, which is precisely, I think, you know, what happened in a, you know, and so, you know, and yeah, I made, there, you know, I had a huge crosshair on my back throughout, throughout that, that time. And it was very, uh, uh, uncomfortable, uh, from being a popular player, even amongst, you know, the organized, the tournaments and, and the tour to suddenly, you know, yeah, not getting a hello or, or, you know,

But you know, the irony is, is your in tennis, after all is said and done, the greatest impact that you could have might not be as a player. It might be in this role. That's exactly right. And you know, I hope that all this is, I mean, it's already been worth it in a lot of ways. There's already been a lot of positive change because of this pressure that we've applied. But I really do hope for the future generations and for the players that sacrifice their whole lives from the age of five. Honestly, I mean, if you don't start playing tennis from five or six, it's very tough to make it in the sport and the family sacrifices and everything. So I really hope that for the sake of this sport

and the athletes to come, that this is a success. Let's talk about Tennis Canada in our last couple of minutes. Is Tennis Canada in good hands? Are we doing the right things to support Canadian talent, to get our best Canadian players to be the fullest expression of who they are? I think Tennis Canada is in great hands right now. Gavin Zibbs is the CEO.

I've known him for years. I've always thought he was an unbelievable talent, you know, very smart guy, really good guy. And, you know, he's new on the job. I think, I mean, if you look at the results that we've had as a nation over the last 10 years, you know, it's hard to argue from the outside that they're not doing a good job. Of course, I can't, you know, get going. I'm not in the business or in the boardroom. So I'm sure if I was there, if I, you know, there might be some things I would

disagree with or advise against or, you know, no organization is perfect. But, but from the outside and from what I see and from what I know, and, and the people that work there, I think they're doing a great job. Well, Vasik, I know that you've got this, this final, like I said, swan song, I really hope that this final tournament is everything you hope it is. I know that you're, you've set yourself up for great success moving forward. I know you and I are working together on a company, Midori Bio, which I know we're doing our best to turn into something great for this country

and indeed for ourselves. Yeah, of course, incredible company. And that's the thing is now when I retire, I'm gonna have so much more time to work on these things. I'm really excited about it. I look forward to working with you more on that company, but sincerely on everything you've worked on. I wanna thank you for joining us here, sharing your stories.

I really do hope that this final tournament is everything you deserve for it to be. And thank you so much and come back anytime. Thank you so much for having me, Ben. You Big brother is back This summer the game gets hotter the alliances get trickier and the blindsides Brutal just a roller coaster of backstabbing and craziness. New house guests, new twists, same epic drama. Bro, I'm gunning for you. You're my number one target. Who can you trust when everyone's watching?

Game on, baby! Big Brother, all new Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays on Global. Stream on STAC TV.