Former tennis player Martina Navratilova has revealed that she has breast and throat cancer.

Martina Navratilova has yet to battle cancer. After beating an early form of breast cancer in 2010, the former tennis legend of the 1980s, winner of 59 Grand Slams in singles and doubles, announced that she had double breast cancer – throat and chest. “This double whammy is serious yet reversible,” the 66-year-old former player said in a press release.

The American, who was born in Czechoslovakia behind the Iron Curtain, was examined in November last year after she found herself with a lump in her throat during the final of the WTA tournament in Fort Worth, where she lives. On this occasion, the doctors also diagnosed her with a second breast cancer, both in stage 1. “I hope for a favorable outcome. It will stink for a while, but I will fight with everything I have,” says the former world No. 1. According to the WTA, she will begin treatment next week in New York.

“This is a special type of cancer (HPV) that is very treatable. These two cancers are at an early stage and the results are excellent,” reads the rather positive press release. Martina Navratilova has announced that she is still withdrawing coverage of the Australian Open from mid-January for the Tennis Channel, with whom she works regularly. A whole generation of tennis players will follow his recovery. Her main court rival-turned-friend Chris Evert also revealed in January 2022 that she had ovarian cancer. In May, he was in remission.