'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Tennis legend Chris Evert has faced many high-pressure moments on the court, but nothing could have prepared her for the shock and uncertainty of hearing the word “cancer.” Especially after her sister Jeanne’s tragic battle with the disease.
In an open-hearted conversation, the 18-time Grand Slam champion spoke about the painful and frightening phase when she had gone in for a preventive surgery, but was instead unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer. She had to undergo two surgeries in 10 days, which she describes as one of the toughest moments of her life.
“Well, yeah, I was pretty good. I was in a daze a little bit. I wouldn't say shell shocked but almost shell shocked. It was quite alarming when I first got diagnosed, because I went in for surgery, a hysterectomy that was to be proactive. And nobody, the doctors, expected to find any cancer. So, when they came back with, ‘Oh, we found some cancer’, I was taken aback,” Evert recalled in a chat with We Are Tennis.
Trending
The American legend continued that the wait to find out whether the cancer had spread was extremely tough, terming it the “most frightening time in the whole experience.” Chris Evert also recalled her sister's fight the disease, adding:
“Then they said and I think what really made me alarmed was they said, ‘So we have to go back in, because we have to check to make sure that it hadn't spread’. So, I had to go in for a second surgery ten days later. So there for three or four days I was waiting to find out, I think I was waiting to find out if I was clear or I was waiting to find out if it had spread, being Stage 3 or Stage 4, which my sister was, and that didn't turn out very well. I think that was the most frightening time in the whole experience.”
Chris Evert remains connected to the sport and runs the Evert Tennis Academy in Florida.
"I’m getting stronger and stronger" - Chris Evert
Chris Evert felt being a professional athlete helped her deal with the many trials and tribulations of the treatment and the many challenges that came along the way. She also revealed that she is completely cancer-free now and wants to help women.
“Well, I'm cancer free, so I'm good. I have to get a CAT scan every three months to be proactive with it, because it came back a second time, and they want to be cautious. But I just had my CAT scan, and everything was clear. So that's all I can do. I feel like I'm living every three months, you know, every three months, and then I get a CAT scan. But I'm doing fine and I'm getting stronger and stronger, so that's good,” she said in the same interaction.
Chris Evert continued that her tryst with cancer made her mentally tougher and changed her perspective towards life.
Evert is among the greatest women’s tennis players of all time. She won a stunning seven French Open titles and six US Open crowns. She was ranked the World No. 1 for 260 weeks and won 157 WTA titles.
