Tennis legend Martina Navratilova revealed Monday that she has been diagnosed with two forms of cancer.
Navratilova, one of the greatest women’s tennis players ever, told Tennis.com in an article published Monday that she was recently diagnosed with Stage 1 throat cancer and early stage breast cancer.
“This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I’m hoping for a favorable outcome,” Navratilova told the website. “It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all have I got.”
Navratilova, 66, is an 18-time Grand Slam winner — tied with Chris Evert for the third most in the Open era. Only Serena Williams (23) and Steffi Graf (22) have won more Grand Slams.
She originally retired in 1994, after a record 167 singles titles and 331 weeks at No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She returned to the tour to play doubles in 2000 and occasionally competed in singles, too.
Navratilova was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000. She has worked as a TV analyst in recent years.
This is the second time Navratilova has been diagnosed with cancer. In 2010, she was diagnosed with noninvasive breast cancer and was considered cancer-free six months later.
Navratilova told Tennis.com that she will begin treatment this month. Both cancers are treatable.
“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,” she tweeted Monday.
This is based in part on wire service reports.
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
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