Chris Evert lauds Moncrief Cancer Institute, recipient of WTA Charities Aceing Cancer grant

WATCH: Evert visited the Tennis Channel Live Desk on Sunday to discuss the latest Aceing Cancer grant.

FORT WORTH, Texas—Chris Evert has emerged from one of the scariest moments of her life healthy and eager to spread awareness for early cancer detection with the help of WTA Charities and ACEing Cancer in partnership with Hologic.

“It’s been six months since my last chemotherapy, and I think I’m almost feeling normal,” she exclaimed in a visit to the Tennis Channel Live Desk at the WTA Finals on Sunday. “I can get on my Peloton, do a little CrossFit. I still have some good energy, so it’s all good.”

Evert, who released a line of tennis bracelets ahead of the US Open, was not only in Texas for tennis; the former world No. 1 was helping award a $10,000 grant to the Moncrief Cancer Institute. Moncrief Cancer Institute boasts “state-of-the-art” technologies and a mobile clinic, all with an emphasis on early detection for diseases like ovarian cancer.

The grant was made in honor of Evert’s late sister Jeannie, who passed away from ovarian cancer in 2020.

“It’s a very hideous cancer because you don’t have any signs whatsoever,” she explained. “But it’s because of her death that I’m alive, and I will always have her in my thoughts and on my mind when I go out to talk about cancer.”

In tennis, for instance, if you have a twinge in your wrist, you didn’t wait until it got to be an injury. If you feel anything different in your body, go to the doctor within three days and get it taken care of. Chris Evert

After undergoing genetic testing, Evert was found to be positive for a cancerous BRCA variant that led her to undergo a hysterectomy, at which point cancer was discovered in her fallopian tubes.

“It’s unbelievable,” she said of her Stage 1C diagnosis. “In four months’ time, if I hadn’t known that, I would have been just like my sister in Stage 3 or Stage 4.”

Looking to spread the word about early screenings and genetic screenings, she and fellow 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova aim to use their platforms as cancer survivors to help save lives.

“What I’ve learned from my cancer experience is that you are your own advocate,” she said. “Your doctor can’t be your only advocate; you know how you feel. In tennis, for instance, if you have a twinge in your wrist, you didn’t wait until it got to be an injury. If you feel anything different in your body, go to the doctor within three days and get it taken care of.

“You also have to know your family history—your parents, grandparents, and their parents—and this could be diabetes or something heart-related, not just cancer. You find out what kind of cancer or problems they had and ask your doctors for genetic testing.”