Fortune favors the brave, it is often said. Well, this is proven in the cases of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. After their successful tennis careers, the duo fought their respective cancer battles and emerged victorious. While Navratilova suffered from throat and breast cancer, Evert defeated ovarian cancer. Despite being fierce rivals on the court, the two became huge pillars of support for each other while fighting cancer. Recently Evert made a big revelation about their cancer battles.

Late last month, Ralph Lauren organized an event to raise awareness about the cancer fight. Evert and Navratilova were present at the event and the two got together for a brief conversation. Subsequently, Evert described their cancer battles and dubbed Navratilova ‘luckier’ than her.

Evert went on to say, “You’re luckier than I am cuz I still have to go every 3 weeks and get a CAT scan you know now that it’s come back then I think there are millions of people around the world going through this and I never thought why me I was thought why not me you know why not you know we’re no different just because we’re tennis champions, we’re still going to deal with obstacles that come our way I think what I learned to do is surrender you know there’s certain things in life you can control there’s certain things life that you just you can’t fight.”

In December last year, Evert made a grim announcement that her ovarian cancer had returned. “My cancer is back. While this is a diagnosis I never wanted to hear, I once again feel fortunate that it was caught early,” she said. Evert has had a history of ovarian cancer diagnosis in her family. Her sister, Jeanne Evert, died of ovarian cancer in 2020. However, the American legend successfully underwent chemotherapy and became cancer-free in July this year.

The friendship between Evert and Navratilova has evolved significantly, especially after their retirement. However, Navratilova also highlighted a glaring difference between her and Evert.

When Martina Navratilova highlighted Chris Evert’s evolution

The two legends of the sport often found each other on the opposite ends of the court. However, their intriguing rivalry only made their friendship more special, so much so that the two saw each other’s evolution with age. While there were many similarities in thoughts and playing styles between Evert and Navratilova, the latter pointed out a different aspect between the two.

Pointing to Evert, Navratilova said, “You’re the other way around. You were much more private then. Now you’re much more an open book. With our cancer, I was in a hole. I didn’t want the world to see anything. I didn’t want to see myself in the mirror, so I certainly didn’t want anyone else to see me. You were much more public about your treatment and everything else. It’s funny. But we end up in the same place.” 

With cancer behind them now, the duo has become a symbol of fighting spirit and resilience. Evert and Navratilova have inspired many young players to take up the sport and now continue to motivate people with their chilling life tales as well.