Martina Navratilova says she is ‘staying away’ from people ‘who don’t give her energy’ after winning her battle against cancer. The 18-time Grand Slam champion was diagnosed with throat and breast cancer earlier this year but was given the all-clear in March.
This is the second time Navratilova has seen off cancer having previously undergone treatment for early-stage breast cancer in 2010. Opening up on her state of mind when she found out about her second diagnosis during a recent appearance on the ‘On with Kara Swisher’ podcast, she said: “The second time I was diagnosed, I said: ‘I could die in a year or less’.
“The doctor who diagnosed me told me it could be in the lungs, kidneys or liver, which meant it could also be in the brain. Before I knew exactly where she was, I was terrified that she might be a death sentence.
“Once we find out she wasn’t, the prognosis is very good, but it still puts things in perspective, no doubt. When health is at a crossroads like this, everything else takes a back seat.
“First of all, you need to be healthy. I learned to stay away from people who didn’t give me energy, who took it away from me. At the same time, I try to energize people, but it has to be a symbiotic situation, not a one-way street,” she said.
“The moment I was told, I went into total panic for three days, thinking maybe I wouldn’t be there next Christmas. I came up with a list of things I wanted to do. And it may seem very superficial, but I thought about which car I wanted to drive in the last year of my life,” she added. Instead, fortunately, she overcame her battle and also attended more events, such as the WTA awards Finals.
Navratilova is widely considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, having won 18 major singles titles, 31 major women’s doubles titles, and 10 major mixed doubles titles during a glistening professional career.
She is the only player in the history of the sport to have held the World No 1 spot both as a singles and doubles player for over 200 weeks and holds the record for the most titles in the Open Era.
