"I viewed it as a challenge" - Chris Evert makes honest admission about handling the prospect of death amid cancer battle

The 18-time Grand Slam champion, Chris Evert, recently shared in an interview how her experience as a professional athlete and her positive mindset played a crucial role in her battle against cancer.

The legendary tennis player was diagnosed with stage 1C ovarian cancer in 2022. As it was detected earlier, she was able to overcome it. Since then, she has been actively involved in increasing awareness regarding early detection and genetic testing.

In an interview with ‘We are Tennis’ by BNP Paribas, Evert spoke about her mindset while fighting cancer, which gave her the strength to stay in the fight and overcome it.

“I don't know. If somebody came to me and said I was going to die tomorrow, I don't know how I'd react, but I think I viewed it as something that was a challenge, and I viewed it also as being humble about it and thinking, well, why not me?” she said.

She further shared her views on how cancer is a widespread problem across the world, and viewing it from this perspective gave her strength and resilience during her journey.

“I mean, half the world has cancer or half the world will get cancer, or so many women like me when they, especially when they get to my age, whether it's breast cancer or any kind of cancer, it's pretty probable that you're going to get it. So, my reaction was, okay, well, you know, so I'm just like everybody else,” Evert added.

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“Being a professional athlete has helped me": Chris Evert said on fighting cancer

In Picture: Chris Evert playing At Wimbledon - Source: Getty

Former World No. 1 Chris Evert talked about how being a professional athlete helped her fight and conquer cancer. This was true not just in the physical aspects but also the mental aspects, as sports can make an athlete’s mindset rock-solid.

“Well, I mean, I think just being a top professional athlete, you have to have thick skin anyway, and you have to have a backbone, and you have to be used to ups and downs and, you know, bad losses and good losses. I think that has helped me tremendously in this fight. You know, I think it's definitely the competition and being a professional athlete has helped me,” she said.

Evert’s journey of battling cancer highlights the impact that sports can have on an individual’s life.

Qualities like resilience, discipline, and mental toughness that athletes develop over years of playing sports not only help them while competing at the professional level, but also stay with them throughout their lives, empowering them to face life’s toughest challenges, including fighting cancer.