Martina Navratilova was diagnosed with throat and breast cancer

The former number one in world tennis Martina Navratilova said Monday that she had been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer.

The Czech-American is considered one of the best players of all time, with a total of 59 Grand Slam titles between singles and doubles.

“This double whammy is serious, but it has a solution,” the 66-year-old told the WTA.

“I’m hoping for a favorable result. It’s going to bother a lot for a while, but I’ll fight with everything I have.”

Navratilova, who was born in the Czech Republic and became a US citizen in 1981, was also diagnosed with breast cancer and beat it in 2010.

Navratilova added that the cancer is stage 1 and the prognosis is good, with treatments starting next week.

The cancer was first discovered in early November, during the WTA finals, when Navratilova noticed a swelling in her neck that would not go down.

“Martina realized she had a swollen lymph node in her neck during the WTA Finals in Fort Worth,” explained Mary Greenham, Navratilova’s manager. “Since it didn’t go down, a biopsy was done, the results of which were stage 1 throat cancer. At the same time Martina was undergoing tests for her throat, a suspicious shape was found on her chest, which later diagnosed as cancer. , completely unrelated to throat cancer. Both cancers are in their early stages with good outcomes.”

Greenham said Navratilova, who now works as a television and radio commentator, will not be in Melbourne for the Australian Open from January 16-29, but hopes to contribute to remote broadcasts.

“Martina will not be covering the Australian Open for the Tennis Channel from her studio, but she hopes to participate from time to time via Zoom,” Greenham said.