Gabriela Dabrowski reveals breast cancer battle: “Early detection saves lives”

Gabriela Dabrowski, the third-ranked doubles player in the world, heads into 2025 opening up about her battle with cancer since April 2024.

“I know this will come as a shock to many, but I am okay and I will be okay,” she wrote on Instagram. “Early detection saves lives. I can wholeheartedly agree with this.”

Calling it “The Unseen of 2024”, Dabrowski revealed that when she first felt a lump in her left breast in spring 2023, she was told not to worry. A year later when it had grown, the official diagnosis came.

“Fast forward through 2 surgeries,” and her coach was tossing the ball for her serve during practice because she couldn’t raise her left arm.

She even delayed further treatment to compete at Wimbledon and the Olympics this past summer, where she finished runner-up at the All England Club, and won a bronze medal in mixed doubles with Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“For a long time, I wasn’t ready to expose myself to the possible attention and questions I’d have gotten before,” she said. “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.”

From “f*ck you” to “thank you”—read all the way to the end of Dabrowski’s post for some context—her cancer journey helped her fall back in love with tennis.

Since Dabrowski’s diagnosis in April, she’s won two doubles titles, including the WTA Finals, and finished second three times.

“If you saw me smiling more on court the past 6 months, it was genuine,” she said. “My cancer diagnosis was the catalyst for more sustained change.”

My mindset shifted from ‘I have to do this’ to ‘I get to do this.' Gabriela Dabrowski

At her career-high ranking in doubles, Dabrowski officially touched down in Melbourne, Australia, gearing up for the summer Down Under. Carrying close with her the experiences of the past year and the privilege to keep going, the Canadian is ready to tackle the season ahead:

“My intentions in sharing some of my experience are to emphasize the quality of life one can maintain when cancer is detected early, when you have access to doctors and other health care practitioners who are highly skilled and dedicated to their craft, when you take care of your mental, physical, and spiritual well-being, and when you surround yourself with people who truly have your back (and your front🙃).”