Tennis Great Martina Navratilova Diagnosed with Throat and Breast Cancer
Fifty-nine-time Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova announced this week that she’s been diagnosed with breast and throat cancer.
According to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), the 66-year-old tennis legend originally underwent testing after discovering an enlarged lymph node in her neck in November. It was found to be stage I throat cancer, due to the human papillomavirus, or HPV. During this time, an unrelated early stage breast cancer was also discovered.
Navratilova said in a statement, “This double whammy is serious but still fixable. I’m hoping for a favorable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all have I got.”
This isn’t the first time she has dealt with a cancer diagnosis. In 2010, she had a lumpectomy following the diagnosis of a noninvasive form of breast cancer.
Navratilova had a storied tennis career, winning 167 singles tournaments, 177 doubles events, and 2,189 matches. She also became the oldest player ever to win a major title, when she won the mixed doubles championship at the US Open a month before she turned 50.
That WTA says that going forward, Navratilova – who now works as a tennis analyst – will not be working on the upcoming Australian Open for the Tennis Channel, but she hopes to do some Zoom commentary before long.
Her treatment is set to begin next week, and her prognosis is said to be good.
In a tweet following the announcement, Navratilova said, “Needless to say my phone and twitter are both blowing up so I will say again- thank you all for your support and I am not done yet.”
