‘I’ll fight with everything I’ve got’: Tennis great Navratilova has throat and breast cancer

Former world number one tennis player Martina Navratilova said on Monday that she has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer.

The 66-year-old is considered one of the greatest players of all time and has won a total of 59 Grand Slam singles and doubles titles. The last was the mixed doubles title with Bob Bryan at the 2006 US Open, a month before his 50th birthday.

“This double fault is serious, but still repairable,” Navratilova said in a statement to the WTA.

“I’m hoping for a favorable outcome. It will stink for a while, but I’ll fight with everything I’ve got.”

Czech-born Navratilova, who became a US citizen in 1981, was also diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010.

Navratilova added that the cancer was stage 1, and the prognosis was good, with treatments starting next week.

Enlarged lymph node

The cancer was first discovered in early November at the WTA Finals in Texas when Navratilova noticed a swelling on her neck that would not go down.

“Martina noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA Finals in Fort Worth,” Navratilova’s representative Mary Greenham said. “When that failed, a biopsy was taken and the results came back as stage 1 throat cancer.

“At the same time that Martina was undergoing throat examinations, a suspicious lump was found in her breast, which was later diagnosed as cancer that was completely unrelated to throat cancer.

“Both of these cancers are early stage with excellent outcomes.”

Greenham said Navratilova, who now works as a television and radio tennis presenter, would not travel to Melbourne from 16-29. to the Australian Open in January, but hopes to participate in the broadcasts remotely.

“Martina will not be broadcasting Tennis Channel’s Aussie Open from her studio, but hopes to join in from time to time via Zoom,” Greenham said.

Navratilova originally retired in 1994 after a record 167 singles titles and 331 weeks at No. 1 in the WTA rankings. He returned to the tour to play doubles in 2000 and occasionally competed in singles as well.

Navratilova was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000. She has worked as a TV analyst in recent years.