Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski played tennis season amid cancer treatment

Dabrowski said on social media she was diagnosed with breast cancer in April, scheduling her cancer treatment around major tennis events.

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Published Dec 31, 2024  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  2 minute read

New Zealand's Erin Routliffe, left, and Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski kiss their trophy after winning the women's doubles final match of the WTA finals in November. Dabrowski announced on social media she'd been undergoing breast cancer treatment all season. Photo by STR /AP

Ottawa-born Canadian tennis star Gabriela Dabrowski underwent breast cancer treatment this year, all the while collecting trophies and medals at major events.

Dabrowski said on social media that she was diagnosed in April 2024, and scheduled her cancer treatment around major tennis events, including Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, where she finished on the podium.

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The three-time Grand Slam doubles champion shared her story on social media on New Year’s Eve, and said she is still undergoing treatment.

“It all seems surreal,” she said on an Instagram post that chronicled two surgeries, recovery, rehabilitation, radiation, endocrine therapy and more.

After a brief break, she won the Nottingham Open alongside Erin Routliffe of New Zealand. She said two weeks before the tournament, she couldn’t lift her arm high enough to serve.

Dabrowski is currently ranked third in the world in doubles, and the breast cancer diagnosis didn’t appear to affect her on-court performance in 2024.

Along with winning at Nottingham, Dabrowski claimed a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the Paris Olympics alongside Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and won the doubles title at the season-ending WTA Finals with Routliffe.

“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),” she wrote.

“Early on in my diagnosis I was afraid of cancer becoming a part of my identity forever. I don’t feel that way anymore. It is a privilege to be able to call myself a survivor.”

With files from the Canadian Press

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