‘Knocked Me on My A**’ – Martina Navratilova Once Disclosed the Toughest Opponent She Ever Battled and It’s Not Chris Evert or Steffi Graf

Former American tennis star, Martina Navratilova, has faced many challenging opponents in her career. The 65-year-old, had a tough rivalry with her friend and fellow American great, Chris Evert. However, what happened only a few years after her retirement was going to be her toughest battle. Back in 2010, Navratilova announced that she was battling with breast cancer.

Later, in an interview, she revealed how she felt while fighting the deadly disease.

Martina Navratilova on her battle with cancer
Back in 2019, Navratilova explained the feelings she had after getting the news of having breast cancer. She also termed it as her toughest opponent. “It was a total shock because I’ve been so healthy,’ said the 53-year-old star, who retired from competitive tennis only three years ago. It knocked me on my a**. I feel so in control of my life and my body, and then this comes, and it’s completely out of my hands,” Navratilova said.

She further added, “Throughout my decades-long tennis career, I have faced some really tough opponents across the net – Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, and even the Williams sisters in doubles. What I never anticipated was that my toughest opponent would be off the court – cancer.”

However, Navratilova was lucky that cancer didn’t spread much. She got over it after a tumor surgery and got radiation therapy to finally defeat the deadly disease.