Three-time Doubles Grand Slam Champion Dabrowski Reveals Breast Cancer Battle
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WTA star Gabriela Dabrowski has bravely and inspirationally opened up about her fight with breast cancer during the 2024 season.
Dabrowski is one of the best WTA doubles players in the world. She won the 2023 US Open women's doubles title alongside Erin Routliffe and obtained the 2024 WTA Finals title with the same partner.
The Canadian has also been successful in mixed doubles. Dabrowski secured the 2017 French Open with Ruhan Bopanna and the 2018 Australian Open with Mate Pavic, establishing her as a high-quality doubles specialist.
Dabrowski also played a starring role in Team Canada winning its first Billie Jean King Cup title in 2023. She won all her doubles matches at the event: Two alongside Eugenie Bouchard, who now plays pickleball and will appear in Pickleball Slam 3, and one with Leylah Fernandez.
Routliffe and Dabrowski's triumph at the 2024 WTA Finals made the year memorable for both women. However, tennis fans did not know that Dabrowski achieved those feats while battling breast cancer.
In a brave, emotional, and lengthy statement released on Instagram, Dabrowski shared her experience of fighting breast cancer in a way that could encourage others to come forward and be detected early like she was.
"In the spring of 2023 I felt a lump in my left breast during a self-exam. A few months later, a doctor told me it was nothing and not to worry. So I didn't. Time went on, and in spring 2024, I thought the lump was a little bigger. During our WTA comprehensive physicals, a WTA doctor told me she wasn't sure what it was, and to go and get it scanned."
"First, a mammogram where a machine squishes the breast to get a picture of the tissues. Second, on Ultrasound, to confirm what the mammogram saw. Third... a phone call from the radiologist reading the images, alerting me to a lump that did not look like a cyst due to its uneven edging and shading. 'It looks ugly and I want to get a biopsy immediately."
"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."
"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. There were so many unknowns and so much learning and research to be done."
"Currently, I'm in a place where I have a 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."
"Over time, I began to recognize 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 @beatingcancerdaily), etc. This feeling of wanting to contribute to others in a positive or helpful way was the beginning of this post."
