WTA Finals champion Gabriela Dabrowski played 2024 season while battling breast cancer

Gabriela Dabrowski had one of the best seasons of her life with the doubles World No.3 undergoing a secret battle at the same time with breast cancer diagnosed in April 2024, she confirmed as the year ended.

Dabrowski, a three time Grand Slam champion including two mixed doubles and a women's doubles crown had two surgeries before she delayed further treatment to return to the sport. She finished runner-up with Erin Routliffe at Wimbledon and claimed a bronze medal at the Olympic Games with Felix Auger-Aliassime in mixed doubles.

She then had a perfect end to a harrowing year by winning the WTA Finals with Routliffe. In a lengthy Instagram post, she detailed her journey and urged people to get anything checked in a harrowing experience that she has been going through since finding a lump in the spring of 2023.

“How can something so small cause such a big problem? This is the question I asked myself when I was diagnosed with breast cancer back in mid-April. I know this will come as a shock to many, but I am okay and I will be okay,” wrote the 32-year-old in a lengthy Instagram post.

"In the spring of 2023 I felt a lump in my left breast during a self-exam. A few months later, a doctor told me it was nothing and not to worry. So I didn't. Time went on and in spring 2024, I thought the lump was a little bigger. During our WTA comprehensive physicals, a WTA doctor told me she wasn't sure what it was and to go and get it scanned."

"First a mammogram where a machine squishes the breast to get a picture of the tissues. Second an ultrasound to confirm what the mammogram saw. Third a phone call from the radiologist reading the images alerting me to a lump that did not look like a cyst due to its uneven edging and shading. It looks ugly and I want you to get a biopsy immediately,"

"The following morning I went into Advent Health hospital in Wesley Chapel and had a biopsy of my left breast. The preliminary results came back that day: cancer. These are words you never expect to hear and in an instant your life or the life of a loved one turns upside down."

"Fast forward two surgeries at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Recovery, rehab @patrickdaciek tossing the ball for me on my serve because my left arm couldn't raise high enough. A slight delay in further treatment to be able to compete at Wimbledon and the Olympics, radiation and fatigue between Toronto and the US Open. Starting endocrine therapy, ending the season on the highest note possible, it all seems surreal."

"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'd have gotten before. I wanted to figure everything out and handle things privately with only those closest to me in the loop. There were so many unknowns and so much learning and research to be done. Currently I'm in a place where I have a better grasp of my treatment, side effects and how to manage them. Please know I am fully aware of how lucky I am as well, because many do not get the luxury of being able to tell their story at all."

“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."