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Chris Evert, a tennis legend who achieved 18 Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam doubles titles in her career, announced Friday that she had stage 1 ovarian cancer.
“I feel very fortunate that they found it early and expect favorable results from my chemo regimen,” Evert said in a Twitter statement. “I appreciate everyone’s understanding of my desire to concentrate on my health and treatment plan.”
Evert, 67, also stated that she will appear from home from time to time during coverage of the Australian Open, which begins on January 17.
Following Evert’s announcement, the Australian Open tweeted, “Thinking of you here and wishing you a swift and full recovery.”
“We are always with you and behind you Chrissie, you are a true champion and I have no doubt you will vanquish this cruel opponent,” Martina Navratilova, another tennis great and longtime adversary of Evert, commented. The rivalry in between two women, which began in 1973 and lasted almost 15 years, has been described as the greatest in sports history. In 14 major finals, the two-faced off against each other.
Evert is no stranger to intense competitions and emerging victorious.
Evert, who was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1954, rose to become the No. 1 top ranked player in the Girls’ 14-under Division by the age of 14. When she was 15, she defeated Margaret Court, the world’s top-ranked player at the time, in a tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina.
On December 21, 1972, Evert turned professional at the age of 18. Several months later, at a women’s professional event in Akron, Ohio, she faced – and defeated – Navratilova for the first time.
Evert became the first female athlete to collect $1 million in career prize money only four years into her professional career.
In 1989, the same year she retired, she became the first female athlete to host “Saturday Night Live.” Six years later, Evert was elected unanimously to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and became the fourth player to do so.
