Chris Evert cemented her place in tennis history with her numerous accomplishments, including 18 Major titles, during her career. An icon of the sport, her composed demeanour helped her win many close matches on the court. Her fighting spirit also helped her win the biggest battle of her life. Following her sister’s demise due to ovarian cancer, the former tennis pro began her own battle with the same.
Evert defied the odds to beat the dreaded disease not once but twice. She has been an active commentator since retiring from the sport. During her stint with TNT Sports at the French Open 2025, she sat down with Tennis365 for a chat, and among other things, spoke about her new outlook on life after her battle with cancer.
Evert said that such an experience changes one as a person. While she does wonder about the cancer returning, she also realized that she needed to live her life to the fullest and more importantly, on her own terms.
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"It does change you when you have a battle like this and I do think about whether my cancer will come back from time to time, but what I think about more is that I need to live every darn day to the fullest. You know, I’d better start doing only things that I want to do and only things that make me happy. That’s the way I think now," Evert said.
Having successfully dealt with cancer twice, Evert now feels this is a second chance for her. She treasures every moment knowing how uncertain and fragile life can be. She further stated that sometimes hitting rock bottom is the only way to change one's mindset.
"When you have lived through an experience like this, you appreciate that every day is precious. You just don’t know what’s around the corner and the reality is you have no control over it. So live every moment. This feels like a second chance for me, no doubt about it. Sometimes you have to sink to the lowest depths and get to a point where you wonder whether you will get through something like cancer to change your mindset," she said.
The most notable change Evert underwent after her successful fight with cancer was being more assertive. She was no longer afraid of saying what was on her mind.
Chris Evert has let go of her inhibitions when it comes to speaking her mind after her fight with cancer
When Chris Evert received her first cancer diagnosis, she was heartbroken to know that it could spread throughout her body. She lucked out that it didn't due to an early diagnosis, which has made her determined to enlighten others about the same.
"I don’t know how much lower you can get when you get a prognosis that you may have cancer in your whole body. Thank God, mine didn’t spread, but it humbles you and makes you feel more eager to speak out on issues like this," Evert said.
Despite being in the public eye for the majority of her life, Evert used to feel conscious of speaking up about the things that mattered to her. Her fight with cancer changed her outlook and she no longer shies away from expressing her opinions.
"Before this period of my life, I used to be wary of image and speaking out. Now I just say what I want to say and that is an attitude that sets you free. If I am well informed and educated on a subject and I have an opinion, then I like to use my voice to speak out," Evert said.
Evert isn't too keen on shaping the future of tennis these days. She instead prefers using her status as a well-known celebrity to spread awareness about cancer. Early detection is what saved her life and she wants more women to know about the options available to them, so they have a better shot at survival. This means a lot more to her than everything she won during her playing days.
"In terms of issues in tennis and trying to influence the game now, I have another life and I don’t want to be involved in that, but when I get a chance to speak out about my cancer battles, that is where I am totally keen to use the platform tennis has given me."
"I want to get the word out there on early prevention, get your scans, make your appointment. There is a lot of information that isn’t out there for women and if I can help a few more go to the doctor and look into what they can do to improve their chances, that is more important than any tennis tournament I won," she said.
Evert wasn't alone in her fight against cancer. The tennis world rallied behind her, especially her one-time rival turned close friend Martina Navratilova, who successfully battled breast and throat cancer herself. She has proven herself to be a champion both on and off the court, as well as a compassionate and an empathetic human being after her ordeal.
