Wimbledon great Martina Navratilova, 66, is diagnosed with throat and breast cancer

Wimbledon’s greatest ever singles champion Martina Navratilova today announced that she has been diagnosed with two forms of cancer.

Navratilova, 66, who won Wimbledon a record nine times, said she has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer after discovering a swollen lymph node in her neck in November.

‘This double whammy is serious but still fixable,’ the Czech-born American , who is married to former Russian beauty queen Julia Lemigova, 50, said. ‘I’m hoping for a favorable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while but I’ll fight with all I have got.’

The former world number one’s diagnosis comes after she was given the all-clear from breast cancer in 2010 following radiation treatment. 

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The tennis star Martina Navratilova (pictured at Wimbledon in 2022) today announced that she has been diagnosed with two forms of cancer

Navratilova, winner of 59 grand slam singles and doubles titles, will not travel to this month’s Australian Open, where she was intending to work as a TV pundit, but a statement from her representative described the prognosis as ‘good’.

‘Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with stage one throat cancer,’ read the statement. ‘The prognosis is good and Martina will start her treatment this month.

‘The cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment. Martina noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA finals in Fort Worth. When it didn’t go down, a biopsy was performed, the results came back as stage one throat cancer.

Navratilova, 66, who won Wimbledon a record nine times, said she has been been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer after discovering a swollen lymph node in her neck in November. Pictured: Navratilova raises her trophy after she won the Women’s final in 1990 for a record ninth time

‘At the same time as Martina was undergoing the tests for the throat, a suspicious form was found in her breast, which was subsequently diagnosed as cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer.

‘Both these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes. Martina won’t be covering the Australian Open for Tennis Channel from their studio but hopes to be able to join in from time to time by Zoom.’

Navratilova won a record nine Wimbledon singles titles between 1978 and 1990 in a career which saw her dominate tennis with 18 total Grand Slam titles. 

Since her retirement, the former left-hander has become a prominent commentator in the sport, and has been a part of the BBC’s coverage at Wimbledon. 

Navratilova married her wife Lemigova in 2015 after nine years together. The couple met more than 20 years ago in a Parisian gay bar. 

In 2010, Navratilova was diagnosed with breast cancer, but after a six month battle, she was given the all clear. 

The tennis ace underwent surgery and six-weeks of radiation after being diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2010. 

Navratilova spoke about her battle with breast cancer – and how she was more concerned at the time with the impact it had on her mother.

She said during an interview in 2019: ‘I found out it was DCIS which is not the worst kind. Sometimes I feel like I lucked out, I had the good cancer – if ever there was an oxymoron.

‘For me the scariest parts were going back to the doctor and getting a mammogram to see if anything else is there.

‘Growing up in a communist country, you have to keep things buttoned up. And then I left my family and I didn’t see my parents for four years. And that’s what I’ll start crying about because I can’t get that time back. 

‘You just think, get on with it. Because the worst part of my life was already behind me.

‘This is only me, I can deal with it, but what hurt me was hurting my mum. Because cancer was a piece of cake.’

This is a breaking news story, more to follow…