Vernon native Vasek Pospisil wins year-end comeback player of the year award

Canada's Vasek Pospisil has been named the ATP Tour's comeback player of the year.

Pospisil, from Vancouver, reached two tournament finals during the abbreviated 2020 season after undergoing back surgery last year.

"It's a great end for me to a great season on the court," Pospisil said.

Ranked 150th last year, Pospisil has climbed to No. 61. A former world No. 25, Pospisil was sidelined for much of 2019.

The 30-year-old Pospisil reached the final at the Open Sud de France before the COVID-19 pandemic started, and matched the feat in November at the Sofia Open in Bulgaria.

Pospisil also reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open after wins over No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and No. 18 Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., at the Grand Slam in New York.

Kevin Anderson of South Africa, Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia and Raonic were also nominated for comeback player of the year.

Players vote for the comeback player of the year award.

"I stayed patient, I worked hard and I've been improving on a constant basis," Pospisil said from Bradenton, Fla. "I feel like every week I'm a better player than I was the week before."

Other award winners were Russia's Andrey Rublev (most improved player); Spain's Carlos Alcaraz (newcomer of the year); Spain's Rafael Nadal (Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award); American Francis Tiafoe (Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award); Switzerland's Roger Federer (Fans' Favourite Award, singles); Britain's Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski (Fans' Favourite Award, doubles); Fernando Vicente (coach of the year); Bob Brett (Tim Gullikson Career Coach Award); and Kevin Mitchell (Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2020.