Gabriela Dabrowski has revealed she underwent breast cancer surgery this year, in a season when she returned to the court to achieve impressive success.
The Canadian, 32, is a three-time grand-slam champion, having claimed one women’s doubles title and two mixed doubles crowns.
Dabrowski is also a two-time Wimbledon runner-up in the women’s doubles, and she has now revealed that her defeat in the final this summer came after she underwent treatment for cancer.
“I was diagnosed with breast cancer back in mid-April,” Dabrowski wrote on Instagram on Tuesday (31 December). “I know this will come as a shock to many, but I am okay and I will be okay. Early detection saves lives.”
Dabrowski revealed she underwent two surgeries before taking a break from the WTA Tour, and that further treatment allowed her to play at Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics.
At Wimbledon, the Canadian finished as runner-up alongside Erin Routliffe; at the Olympics, Dabrowski claimed mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime. She also won the WTA Finals with Routliffe in November.
“Ending the season on the highest note possible [after everything that happened in 2024]… it all seems surreal,” Dabrowski added.
“Why am I sharing my story now? 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.
“Currently, I’m in a place where I have a better grasp of my treatment, side effects and how to manage them […] My intentions in sharing some of my experience are to emphasize the quality of life one can maintain when cancer is detected early, when you have access to doctors and other health care practitioners who are highly skilled and dedicated to their craft, when you take care of your mental, physical and spiritual well-being, and when you surround yourself with people who truly have your back (and your front).
“If you saw me smiling more on court in the past six months, it was genuine […] My cancer diagnosis was the catalyst for more sustained change. When the threat of losing everything I’d worked for my entire life became a real possibility, only then did I begin to authentically appreciate what I had.”
