Former US Open women’s doubles champion Gabriela Dabrowski revealed Tuesday that she has played until 2024 after undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She delayed some of this treatment so she could compete at Wimbledon where she reached the doubles final.
“I know this will be a shock to many, but I am fine and everything will be fine,” the 32-year-old Canadian said on social media. “Early detection saves lives. I can totally agree with this.
Dabrowski, ranked third in women’s doubles, said in an Instagram post that she received the diagnosis in April. She did not play that month or May due to surgery, but returned to the courts in June.
Dabrowski said there was “a slight delay in continuing treatment” so she could compete at Wimbledon – where she and New Zealander Erin Routliffe lost the final in July to Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend – and at the Paris Olympics, where she won the bronze medal in mixed doubles with Félix Auger-Aliassime.
Dabrowski said she first found a bump in the second half of 2023 and was initially told not to worry about it.
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“This all seems surreal,” Dabrowski wrote, saying she now has a “better understanding” of her treatment and its side effects. “For a long time, I wasn’t ready to expose myself to the attention and questions I might have received before. I wanted to figure everything out and handle things privately with only those close to me knowing.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won the WTA Finals at the end of that season. The pair also won the U.S. women’s doubles title in 2023.
“My mindset changed from ‘I have to do this (play tennis and not waste my skills)’ to ‘I can do this.’ “Through this lens, it’s much easier for me to find joy in areas of my life that I previously considered a burden,” she said.
Dabrowski ended his message by aiming an expletive against cancer, while adding “but also, thank you.”
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