American Tennis legend and ESPN commentator, Chris Evert has revealed that she was diagnosed with stage one ovarian cancer last month.
‘I wanted to share my stage one ovarian cancer diagnosis and the story behind it as a way to help others,’ wrote the 67-year-old former world number one women’s singles player on Twitter.
‘I feel very fortunate that they caught it early, and I am hopeful that my chemo plan will produce positive results.’
Evert stated that a malignant tumor was discovered during a routine hysterectomy earlier this month.
Cancer had been removed during the hysterectomy and had not spread, according to a second operation.
Her doctor said she had a better than 90% chance of surviving chemotherapy.
‘I haven’t felt this happy in years!’ Evert stated this after receiving the news from her doctor.
She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and three doubles titles, and she was the year’s top singles player seven times. Evert won 157 singles titles and 32 doubles titles in total.
Evert’s younger sister, former pro tennis player Jeanne Evert Dubin, died in 2020 at the age of 62 after a battle with ovarian cancer. Dubin’s cancer had spread by the time it was discovered.
‘She is my inspiration when I go through chemo,’ Evert said in the article. ‘I’ll keep her in my thoughts.’ ‘And she’ll help me get through it.’
Since retiring from tennis, Evert has worked as an ESPN broadcaster covering the sport.
Evert will be covering the Australian Open remotely for the duration of her treatment.
