‘She Was Exhausted’ – Proud Friend Chris Evert Once Detailed Martina Navratilova’s Epic Victory While Battling Cancer

Being a sport having more than a century-long history, Tennis has given birth to a number of on-court rivalries. However, amongst the greatest of the rivalries and friendships, one that remains on the top is that of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. And has been a constant source of support for each other during testing times, particularly when they suffered cancer (at different times).

Going back in time, in August 2010, Chris Evert detailed one of the most epic victories of Martina Navratilova.

Chris Evert praises the unexpected victory of Martina Navratilova

During her active years, one can recall Navratilova as one of the fittest players on the tour. Her evidently fit physique undoubtedly played a major role in her dominance over the game. However, moving ahead in life, things didn’t seem to be as good as they were in her young days. Exactly, Four years after her 2nd retirement, on 7th April 2010, Navratilova shook the world with a heart-clenching news. The tennis legend announced her diagnosis of Breast cancer through ABC’s Good Morning America.

Similar to the entire tennis world, a shocked Chris Evert said, “What? The seemingly healthiest, fittest woman in the world.”

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Even though the tennis world hoped Navratilova to be all right, that didn’t seem to be the case with the champion herself. Not letting the ailment overshadow her, she went ahead and won the inaugural Women’s Legend’s competition at the 2010 French Open. She teamed up with Jana Novotna to win the title.

Impressed by the victory, Chris Evert, in an interview, opened up about her take on Navratilova’s spirit. “I’ve just been there for her, but I think she has a lot of people there for her. She’s kept me up to date. At the French Open [where Navratilova was doing Tennis Channel commentary] the first bout [of radiation] she was feeling nothing. With the second bout, she was exhausted. Then she still went out and won the [French Open veteran doubles] tournament. And her cancer is gone now,” she said.

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Standing like a wall against the ailment, it was finally on 30th September 2010 that Navratilova declared herself cancer-free. And earlier this year, Evert underwent chemo for Ovarian cancer. In May 2022, she announced the completion of her chemotherapy sessions.