Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil will not be making a 10th appearance in the main draw at Wimbledon.
The 33-year-old tennis player lost in the first round of qualifying, 2-6, 6-7 (2) to Brazilian Felipe Alves.
It’s been a disappointing past two years for Pospisil, who has battled injury and difficult play, making just one main draw Grand Slam appearance in that time.
In February, he announced that due to health reasons, he would be out of action for four months.
Due to health reasons, I will be off the tour for the next 3-4 months. Tough news but this is part of the journey. Hope to be back in competition soon. Will take this time to work on other projects and enjoy time with friends & family. Thank you for the support as always 🙏🏼
— Vasek Pospisil (@VasekPospisil) February 16, 2023
Qualifying events are held for tennis Grand Slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open) to decide the remaining 16 spots in the 128 person main draw.
Players in qualifying must win three straight matches in order to secure a place in the main draw.
Sometimes, if there are late withdrawals due to injury, a lucky loser (someone who lost their third qualifying match) will be inserted into the main draw last minute.
Pospisil, who grew up in Vernon, was looking to make a return into Wimbledon for the first time since 2021.
He has a career high singles ranking of 25, and was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 2015. He won the doubles competition with American partner Jack Sock in 2014.
In other Canadian news, the 21-year-old Montreal local Gabriel Diallo won his first qualifying match, and will face off against Italian Matteo Gigante in round two, to take place on Wednesday, June 28.
More results can be found at wimbledon.com.
READ MORE: Vernon’s Vasek Pospisil headed to quarterfinal in Vancouver
READ MORE: Okanagan one step closer to having another indoor tennis facility
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