Wimbledon doubles finalist Gabriela Dabrowski has revealed she had breast cancer surgery earlier this year, undergoing further treatment while she challenged for the sport’s biggest prizes.
The 32-year-old Canadian, who is a three-time major champion, was diagnosed in April.
“It is a privilege to be able to call myself a survivor,” world number three Dabrowski wrote in an Instagram post.
After two surgeries and a three-month break from the WTA Tour, she returned to win the Nottingham grass-court title alongside New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe in her first tournament back.
Four weeks later, the pair reached the Wimbledon final where they lost to Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.
Dabrowski had delayed further treatment to be able to play at the All England Club and represent her nation in the Paris Olympics, then underwent radiation therapy before the US Open in late August.
Despite dealing with fatigue as a result of the treatment, Dabrowski reached the quarter-finals in New York alongside Routliffe.
She also started hormone therapy before ending the season on the “highest note possible” by winning the WTA Finals title alongside Routliffe.
“It all seems surreal,” wrote Dabrowski, who said she was sharing her story now to help other women facing similar treatment.
“If you saw me smiling more on court in the past six months, it was genuine.
“My cancer diagnosis was the catalyst for more sustained change.
“When the threat of losing everything I’d worked for my entire life became a real possibility, only then did I begin to authentically appreciate what I had.”
