Tennis icon Martina Navratilova gave an update on her health while accepting the Racchetta d'Oro (Golden Racket) award at the Italian Open on Sunday. She was diagnosed with throat and breast cancer in January of 2022.
"I've gone through a very difficult year, but now I'm OK," Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam champion, said while accepting the award at the event.
Navratilova was forced to halt her duties as a studio analyst for the Tennis Channel in early 2023 to undergo treatment for her cancer. She has since made her way back to the broadcast table now that he cancer is in remission.
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She found out that she had stage 1 throat cancer in December 2022 after discovering an enlarged lymph node in her neck. While undergoing tests for the throat cancer, it showed that her breast cancer had returned.
The tennis legend was treated for breast cancer in 2010 but had been in remission for 12 years. Navratilova, who has been in the International Tennis Hall of Fame since 2000, underwent treatment for both cancers in January and was in remission by March.
Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles during her career, including winning Wimbledon on nine different occasions. She defeated Chris Evert to win the 1983 U.S. Open and in doing so, became just the seventh woman in tennis history to win a Career Grand Slam (winning all four majors).
Navratilova also won 31 women's doubles titles and had an impressive 747-143 record over the course of her career.
