Wimbledon finalist Dabrowski played tennis season after cancer diagnosis

Wimbledon finalist Gabriela Dabrowski has revealed she played the entire 2024 season while undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

The 32-year-old Canadian had kept her diagnosis a secret in April, but detailed the battle she has endured in a lengthy Instagram post.

Dabrowski said: “I know this will come as a shock to many, but I am doing well and will be fine. Early detection saves lives.”

After first finding a lump in the spring of 2023, which she said was nothing to worry about, she had a scan a year later and was then diagnosed with cancer.

Dabrowski did not play a match in April and May after surgery, but returned in June and won her first tournament back with partner Erin Routliffe in Nottingham.

She delayed treatment to compete at Wimbledon, where she and Routliffe finished second, and at the Olympics, while the pair ended the season by winning the WTA Finals, leaving Dabrowski ranked third in the world.

In her Olympic bronze medal match against compatriot Felix Auger-Aliassime, Dabrowski defeated Wesley Koolhof and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands 6-3, 7-6 (2) to win Canada’s first-ever Olympic medal in mixed doubles.

“It all seems surreal,” she wrote. “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 had received before. I wanted to figure everything out and handle things privately, with only those closest to me knowing.

“There were so many unknowns and so much to learn and research. Currently I am in a place where I have a better understanding of my treatment, its side effects and how to manage them.

“My intentions in sharing some of my experiences are to highlight the quality of life you can maintain if cancer is detected early, if you have access to physicians and other healthcare providers who are highly skilled and dedicated to their profession, if 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).”