Martina Navratilova announced on Monday that she has been diagnosed with two types of cancer.
Navratilova, 66, has throat and breast cancer, both of which have been detected in their early stages.
โThis double whammy is serious but still fixable, and Iโm hoping for a favorable outcome,โ Navratilova said in a statement. โItโs going to stink for a while, but Iโll fight with all have I got.โ
Navratilova was in for a throat exam when both forms of the disease were discovered. She will begin treatment later this month.
Navratilova, who was born in the Czech Republic, was a strong player in the 1970s and 1980s, winning 18 Grand Slam singles titles. She had a long rivalry with American Chris Evert, who recently died of ovarian cancer.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova diagnosed with breast and throat cancer https://t.co/VR1agrvtyK pic.twitter.com/vagvWHJtsF
โ New York Post (@nypost) January 2, 2023
โI really didnโt talk much about breast cancer before I had it,โ Navratilova previously told People.
โNow, Iโm approached by women and we share our stories. Itโs encouraging to see that thereโs life after cancer.โ
She won 59 Grand Slams in total, 31 in womenโs doubles and 10 in mixed doubles. The most recent was a mixed doubles title with Bob Bryan at the 2006 U.S. Open, just a month before her 50th birthday.
Navratilova retired in 1994, after winning a record 167 singles titles and spending 331 weeks at the top of the WTA rankings. In 2000, she returned to the tour to participate in doubles and rarely in singles.
In 2000, Navratilova was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In recent years, she has worked as a TV analyst.
Navratilova will not be a regular part of Tennis Channelโs coverage of the Australian Open later this month, according to a statement made Monday, but โhopes to be able to join in from time to timeโ via video conference.