Ardent fans of the American tennis legend Chris Evert know that she shared a close bond with her sister, Jeanne Evert. When her younger sister died in 2020, the 68-year-old tennis legend was understandably devastated, but she had no idea what was waiting for her. Shockingly, after a year, the tennis icon was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Recently, about three years after that terrible period, the 18-time Grand Slam champion made a shocking confession about how a simple blood test literally saved her life.

Jeanne, born three years before the legendary American tennis player, died at 62 after a nearly two-and-a-half-year battle with ovarian cancer. Later, after she had passed away, it was found that she had a rare BRCA gene mutation, which she inherited from her parents.

How one blood test saved Chris Evert’s life

Recently, Eurosport released a special edition of Legends Voice with the 68-year-old tennis player. As she is all set for the French Open, she talked about her return to Roland-Garros and the tough times when she faced cancer. In that same conversation, she talked about how a generic blood test saved her from a huge problem after her sister’s death.

She said, “In my case, the hospital called to inform me that my sister Jeanne’s BRCA variant was reclassified as cancerous and advised me to get my blood tested, which resulted in a BRCA positive diagnosis. I had surgery, immediately followed by chemotherapy, and because I caught it early, at stage one. I have a 93% chance of it not recurring. So basically, one blood test saved my life!”

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However, when the former world number one was diagnosed with cancer, she had no symptoms and was diagnosed quite early. Due to this, she was able to fight cancer more bravely and became an inspiration to everyone out there. Along with that, she urged people to stay consistently look out for minor body changes, as they can lead to a lot of unexpected things.

The former world number one has always been quite open about how her sister’s death is the reason why she is alive today.

Evert’s sister’s death gave her a second chance at life

In an interview with HBO last year, the 18-time Grand Slam champion spoke candidly about her entire ordeal. Starting from the death of her sister to the day she was diagnosed with cancer. She said how witnessing her sister’s cancer-related suffering fueled her desire to defeat the disease.

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After the unfortunate demise of Jeanne, Chris mentioned how sweet, compassionate, and selfless her sister was, and she was indeed a blessing to heaven.