"I'm able to get a little more energy, I'm feeling better and better" - Chris Evert on her chemotherapy

Friday, 09 September 2022 at 04:00

Tennis legend Chris Evert announced her diagnosis of Stage 1 ovarian cancer earlier this year and underwent six sessions of chemotherapy

Speaking to PBS NewsHour, the former World No. 1 said that she is feeling a lot better than she did three months ago when she finished her chemotherapy.

"I'm feeling a lot better than three months ago, let's put it that way," disclosed Evert. "I mean, as time goes on and I'm able to get a little more energy, exercise a little bit more, I'm feeling better and better."

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The American said that her ex-husband Andy Hill was very supportive and took her to all of her chemotherapy sessions. Evert stated that she had nausea and fatigue for a few days before being able to do day-to-day things.

"Andy, my former husband, took me to all six chemos and, you know, he was really supportive," added the former World No.1. "I had a little nausea, and fatigue, not tiredness, but fatigue is a different feeling. I had that for like five days and then, I would have two weeks of feeling okay and I could go to my tennis academy, and coach, and I could do pretty much normal things. So, I feel very lucky."

Ovarian cancer claimed the life of Evert's sister Jeannie and her blood was stored in case data on new variants of BRCA1 became available. The 67-year-old said that her sister's blood tested BRCA positive and that she had to take a test, which eventually returned positive as well.

"The geneticist called and said 'We retested Jeannie's blood and another variant has come up, and now she's BRCA positive, so you're gonna have to take the BRCA test, and so all of our siblings took it," stated Evert. "I went the next day and took the BRCA test, and ten days later, discovered that I was positive.

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"I went to the doctor and he said 'Ok you have to have a hysterectomy. You don't need the reproductive organs so the best thing, the safest thing is just to get everything out. I encourage any woman not to be afraid of having a hysterectomy.

"But what happened was surprising after that. My doctor called me three days later and said 'We're really shocked about this but our findings are that you had ovarian cancer and you had cancer in your fallopian tubes.' And I was like 'Woah'. This is an insidious, ugly cancer because you don't feel any effects whatsoever. And many times women are diagnosed, they are already in Stage 4."

Arthur Ajayi

Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.

As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.

With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.

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