'A blessing in disguise': B.C.'s Vasek Pospisil on how recovering from surgery pushed him to new heights

When Vernon, B.C., tennis star Vasek Pospisil underwent back surgery at the beginning of the year, he had no idea the trajectory his year would take. 

The 29-year-old was worried his very first surgery could potentially end his career — instead he's spending the final week of the year celebrating being named Postmedia's Male Athlete of the Year.

"Psychologically you're not quite sure if you're going to come back, if you're going to be healthy," Pospisil told host Gloria Macarenko on CBC's On The Coast. 

"I reflected a few times and thought well, you know, I've had a great career, so worst case if I can't really make it back to the high level, then it was a good run."

In that headspace, Pospisil said he decided to let loose and relax and consider life after tennis. 

But as he recovered slowly from his surgery, returning to the court revived his competitive spirit.

"I guess I was relieved and happy to be on the court playing well and moving freely and being pain-free, which I haven't been in years, even prior to the surgery," he said. 

"I took tennis for granted a little bit and then, you know, I just really enjoyed my time on the court when I came back."

And it was quite a comeback.

In a splendid year for Canadian tennis, Pospisil helped Canada win its first-ever Davis Cup victory over the United States and sent Canada to the finals. 

"If I rewind it three months before the Davis Cup, I would've never, never thought that I would be playing at that level and that Canada would be in the final and I would have been such a major part of that."

It wasn't just on the court that Pospisil had an impact.

In August, he called on professional tennis to form a union and improve revenue sharing among players. He says many players who may be ranked among the top 200 struggle to make ends meet with travel expenses, equipment costs and coaching fees. 

He said this also sprung from that time period recovering from surgery.

"I just figured it was a good thing to do with the time that I had on my hands.... Might be I'll be looking at that [surgery] as a blessing in disguise."

Listen to the interview here: