Martina Navratilova’s ex tennis rival Chris Evert joins chorus of well wishes amid cancer diagnosis

Chris Evert has said she will support her former on-court rival Martina Navratilova in her battle with cancer – as the tennis star did for her when she was diagnosed with the disease last year.

Ms Evert, whose decades-long rivalry with Ms Navratilova is considered one of the greatest in sports history, joined a chorus of well wishes for the tennis great.

Ms Navratilova, 66, who won Wimbledon a record nine times, said she has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer after discovering a swollen lymph node in her neck in November.

Evert joined Billie Jean King in leading the support for the Czech-American player, tweeting: ‘Thinking of Martina Navratilova today and supporting her journey, like she did mine, with love and prayers. This is a woman who takes on challenges with strength and resilience… You got this, Martina.’ 

Chris Evert, pictured hugging Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1978,  has said she will support her former on-court rival in her battle with cancer

Ms Navratilova, pictured with Ms Evert at the 20th Century Sports Awards in 1999, was diagnosed with throat and breast cancer after discovering a swollen lymph node in her neck

Ms Evert joined Billie Jean King in leading the support for the Czech-American player with a tweet offering her ‘love and prayers’

Ms Evert, 68, revealed in January last year that she had ovarian cancer. She was declared to be in remission in May.

Ms Evert’s younger sister Jeanne died of the same disease in 2020 but the family were initially informed that genetic testing had not flagged up anything sinister. 

At the time of Ms Evert’s diagnosis, Ms Navratilova had tweeted: ‘We are all with you and behind you Chrissie, you are a true champion and I have no doubt you will conquer this nasty opponent with nary a sweat!’

Revealing her diagnosis yesterday, Ms Navratilova wrote: ‘This double whammy is serious but still fixable. 

‘I’m hoping for a favorable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while but I’ll fight with all I have got.’ 

Ms Navratilova, who is married to former Russian beauty queen Julia Lemigova, later insisted that she is ‘not done yet’.

She tweeted: ‘Needless to say my phone and Twitter are both blowing up so I will say again – thank you all for your support and I am not done yet.

‘I’m hoping for a favourable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while but I’ll fight with all I have got.’ 

Ms Navratilova, pictured at Wimbledon last year, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 but was given the all-clear following radiation treatment

The former tennis world number one with her wife, Russian beauty queen Julia Lemigova, in 2019

The former tennis world number one was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 but was given the all-clear following radiation treatment. 

Ms King said Ms Navratilova is ‘as brave as she is strong’, adding: ‘She has fought this battle before, and she is in our thoughts and prayers.’

Ms Navratilova, who won 59 Grand Slam singles and doubles titles, will not travel to this month’s Australian Open where she was hoping to work as a TV pundit. 

But a statement from her representative described the prognosis as ‘good’.

‘Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with stage one throat cancer,’ the statement added. ‘The prognosis is good and Martina will start her treatment this month.’

From left, Russian tennis player Veronika Kudermetova, Ms Navratilova and Belgian player Elise Mertens pose with the Martina Navratilova Trophy. Ms Navratilova presented the pair with the cup after they won the women’s doubles at the WTA Finals in Texas last year

Ms Navratilova raises her trophy after she won the women’s final in 1990 for a record ninth time

Ms Navratilova discovered an enlarged lymph node while attending the WTA Finals in Texas in November and a biopsy showed early-stage throat cancer. While she was undergoing tests on her throat, the unrelated breast cancer was discovered. 

Her representative added in a statement: ‘The cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment. 

‘Martina noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA finals in Fort Worth. When it didn’t go down, a biopsy was performed, the results came back as stage one throat cancer. 

‘At the same time as Martina was undergoing the tests for the throat, a suspicious form was found in her breast, which was subsequently diagnosed as cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer.

Ms Navratilova reacts after defeating Germany’s Barbara Rittner to qualify for the fourth round of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in 1992

‘Both these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes. Martina won’t be covering the Australian Open for Tennis Channel from their studio but hopes to be able to join in from time to time by Zoom.’

A message on Twitter from the US outlet the Tennis Channel said: ‘Thinking of you, Martina’

Ms Navratilova, who was born in Revnice in the Czech Republic, dominated the tennis world in a career that has spanned four decades. 

She originally retired in 1994, after a record 167 singles titles and 331 weeks at No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She returned to the tour to play doubles in 2000 and occasionally competed in singles too.

Ms Navratilova, who was one of the first openly gay sports figures, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000.

As she approached her 50th birthday in 2006, she retired from professional tennis for good after her final Grand Slam – a mixed-doubles championship with Bob Bryan at the US Open. She became the oldest player to ever win a Grand Slam title during that match. 

Since her retirement, she has become a prominent commentator in the sport and has been a part of the BBC’s coverage at Wimbledon. 

Ms Navratilova (left) sits next to the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex in the Royal Box at Wimbledon to watch the 2019 final between Serena Williams and Simona Halep

Ms Navratilova, pictured at Wimbledon in 2019, described her diagnosis as ‘serious but still fixable’

Ms Navratilova married her wife Ms Lemigova in 2014 after eight years together. The couple met more than 20 years ago in a Parisian gay bar. 

The couple live together in Miami with their two daughters, five Belgian Malinois dogs, turtles and a cat. 

In 2012, Ms Navratilova said motherhood had changed her life and she had cut down on her travelling to spend more time with her family. The two children are from Ms Lemigova’s previous relationship. 

Raising the sensitive issue of motherhood at the time, presenter Kirsty Young said that many high-profile gay couples have had children, before asking: ‘Would you have wanted to have children, or did that coincide with your Grand Slam years?’

Ms Navratilova replied: ‘Pretty much, well those years are gone, I am well into the menopause now, so that ship has sailed!’

However, she added: ‘I never really got the opportunity to have a child, but I am in a relationship now with my partner and she has two girls, so I am a parent now.’

On motherhood, Navratilova said: ‘It’s difficult, two girls, but it’s fun, it’s amazing.’

The star, who has had difficult relationships with ex-girlfriends including Toni Layton which ended in a legal battle, as well as another beauty queen, former Miss Texas Judy Nelson, admitted: ‘I am looking to change my life a little bit where I don’t have to travel so much. It’s instantaneous family. It’s strange because you get into a relationship and there are two kids.

‘Yeah, it changes your life, there’s no doubt about that, but in a good way.’

Lemigova, the daughter of a Soviet army colonel, was first seen with Miss Navratilova just weeks after she had described her girlfriend as ‘drop-dead beautiful’ in the mid 2000s.

However, Lemigova, who was the last Miss USSR before the collapse of the Soviet Union and who now runs a cosmetics business, does have a troubled past.

Former pro tennis player Martina Navratilova (L) and Julia Lemigova attend an event in LA, California, in 2017

Navratilova married her wife Lemigova (pictured together) in 2015 after nine years together. The couple met more than 20 years ago in a Parisian gay bar

In 2010, French police re-opened a criminal inquiry which centres on Miss Lemigova’s tragic history.

At the heart of their investigation was the love child that Miss Lemigova gave birth to 12 years ago.

Her son, Maximilien, died in suspicious circumstances when he was five-and-a-half months old. Miss Lemikova was adamant that he was murdered and that his death was connected to that of the baby’s father, French banker Edouard Stern, a close friend of Nicolas Sarkozy.

Multi-millionaire Stern was shot dead by another lover during a sadomasochistic sex session in 2005.

Stern was estranged from his wife, Beatrice David-Weill, with whom he had three children. He was also indulging in numerous other illicit liaisons, many of them at sadomasochistic orgies.

However, Lemigova told one French journalist: ‘I knew absolutely nothing about that side.

‘We had a normal relationship based on feelings.’

Navratilova came out as gay in 1981 and since then she has advocated for equal rights and has supported scores of LGBT charities.    

In 2010, Navratilova was diagnosed with breast cancer, but after a six month battle, she was given the all clear. 

The tennis ace underwent surgery and six-weeks of radiation after being diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2010. 

Navratilova spoke about her battle with breast cancer – and how she was more concerned at the time with the impact it had on her mother.

Martina Navratilova playing for the United States in the Federation Cup in July 1986 in Prague, Czechoslovakia in July 1986 

She said during an interview in 2019: ‘I found out it was DCIS which is not the worst kind. Sometimes I feel like I lucked out, I had the good cancer – if ever there was an oxymoron.

‘For me the scariest parts were going back to the doctor and getting a mammogram to see if anything else is there.

‘Growing up in a communist country, you have to keep things buttoned up. And then I left my family and I didn’t see my parents for four years. And that’s what I’ll start crying about because I can’t get that time back. 

‘You just think, get on with it. Because the worst part of my life was already behind me.

‘This is only me, I can deal with it, but what hurt me was hurting my mum. Because cancer was a piece of cake.’

Navratilova was embroiled in an argument with the BBC over pay a few years ago after she revealed that John McEnroe was paid 10 times more than she is for the expert analysis the two provide during Wimbledon.

The Czech-American legend told a wider BBC Panorama investigation — Britain’s Equal Pay Scandal — of the disparity between what they receive for their services over the iconic fortnight. 

She instructed her agent to ask for more money and said she was upset when discovering the different remuneration scales.

‘Overall it was a shock because John McEnroe makes at least £150,000,’ said Navratilova, a long-time campaigner for equality in different areas of life.

‘I get about £15,000 for Wimbledon and unless John McEnroe’s doing a whole bunch of stuff outside of Wimbledon, he’s getting at least 10 times as much money.’ 

BBC Sport told Panorama: ‘John and Martina perform different roles in the team, and John’s role is of a different scale, scope and time commitment. They are simply not comparable. John’s pay reflects all of this. Gender isn’t a factor.

‘Martina is one of a number of occasional contributors who is contracted to carry out a fixed volume of work and paid per appearance. The BBC believes her pay reflects what she is asked to do. Along with Sue Barker, John is regarded as the face of our Wimbledon coverage. He is a defining voice within the BBC’s coverage.’

In 2008, Navratilova came second in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. She was beaten to the title of Queen of the jungle by EastEnders actor Joe Swash.