“This will come as a shock to many” – Dabrowski reveals battling cancer in 2024

Facing adversity, the doubles world No 3 from Canada won the WTA Finals and mixed-doubles Olympics bronze in 2024

Andy Wong/AP/SIPA

January 1, 2025

Doubles world No 3 Gabriela Dabrowski revealed on New Year’s Eve that she underwent surgeries for breast cancer in 2024.

Dabrowski disclosed on social media that she spotted a growth in her left breast in 2023 but was assured by a doctor that it was harmless. A year later, however, she realised the bulge had enlarged over time and went for a scan to find out it was cancerous.

“How can something so small cause such a big problem,” she started her announcement on Instagram. “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. Early detection saves lives. I can wholeheartedly agree with this. 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 (shoutout @hologic) 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.”

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Dabrowski won WTA Finals and Olympics Bronze

Dabrowski played through cancer in the calendar year, winning the WTA Finals and Nottingham Open with Erin Routliffe, and clinching the mixed-doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics with fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Furthermore, she and Routliffe reached four finals in 2024—at Wimbledon, Miami, Toronto and Eastbourne.

“Fast forward through 2 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 (this was 2 weeks before Nottingham) a slight delay in further treatment to be able to compete at Wimbledon and the Olympics, radiation + fatigue (between Toronto and US Open), starting endocrine therapy, ending the season on the highest note possible… it all seems surreal.”

The 32-year-old further left a strong message in a bid to spread awareness about breast cancer and inspire others to not lose hope.