World No.3 and 2023 US Open doubles champion Gabriela Dabrowski has stunned the tennis world with a shocking revelation. The 32-year-old Canadian, who won the WTA Finals doubles title last month, shared an unexpected update on social media on Sunday, revealing her fight with a fatal health disease in the last season.

Dabrowski dropped a post, dated December 31, on her Instagram account, mentioning she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Back in April, she felt a lump in her left breast. While a doctor initially told her that there was no need to worry, she felt that the lump grew bigger in the spring. Eventually, during her WTA comprehensive physicals, another doctor recommended a scan, which confirmed the diagnosis.

“First a mammogram where a machine (shoutout @hologic) squishes the breast to get a picture of the tissues. Second, an ultrasound, to confirm what the mammogram saw. Third… a phone call from the radiologist reading the images, alerted me to a lump that did not look like a cyst due to its uneven edging and shading. ‘It looks ugly and I want you to get a biopsy immediately,” Dabrowski revealed in her post on Instagram.

“The following morning I went into Advent Health Hospital in Wesley Chapel and had a biopsy of my left breast. The preliminary results came back that day: cancer. These are words you never expect to hear, and in an instant, your life or the life of a loved one turns upside down,” she added.

“Fast forward through 2 surgeries at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, recovery, rehab, @patrickdaciek tossing the ball for me on my serve because my left arm couldn’t raise high enough (this was two weeks before Nottingham) a slight delay in further treatment to be able to compete at Wimbledon and the Olympics radiation + fatigue (between Toronto and US Open), starting endocrine therapy, ending the season on the highest note possible…it all seems unreal,” the post further read.

Despite her struggles, Dabrowski managed to wrap up 2024 on a winning note. She clinched the WTA Finals trophy last month in the doubles category. Playing with her trusted partner Erin Routliffe, she defeated Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend. In the championship battle, in Riyadh, the pair won with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-3. But why did Dabrowski not make this huge revelation earlier? Well, she explained that too.

Gabriela Dabrowski mentions the reason behind revealing her story so late

In the same post, Gabriela Dabrowski mentioned the crucial reason behind sharing her story at this point. Without mincing words, she wrote, “For a long time, I wasn’t ready to expose myself to the possible attention and questions I’d have gotten before. I wanted to figure everything out and handle things privately with only those closest to me in the loop.”

“There were so many unknowns and so much learning and research to be done. Currently, I’m in a place where I have better grasp of my treatment, side effects and how to manage them. Please know I am fully aware of how lucky I am as well, because many do not get the luxury of being able to tell their story at all,” she added.

Dabrowski is now motivated to raise awareness about cancer. “Over time, I began to realize I was a part of something much bigger than myself. During October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I caught myself wanting to share posts I saw about the importance of early detection, healthy eating and living habits, experts to learn from, podcasts that offer advice and comfort (shoutout to @beatingcancerdaily), etc.” And hence, this “feeling of wanting to contribute to others in a positive or helpful way was the beginning of this post,” she further wrote.

What are your thoughts on Dabrowski’s shocking revelation? Let us know in the comments below.