Spanish tennis star Garbine Muguruza has paid tribute to fellow tennis player Carla Suarez Navarro after she revealed on Tuesday that she is battling cancer.
Suarez Navarro, who is a former doubles partner of the world No.16, has been diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma and will undergo six months of chemotherapy. The condition develops in the lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels and glands spread throughout your body. She confirmed the news just two days before her 32nd birthday by uploading a video on her social media accounts.
“I was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. The doctors told me that it was small, curable lymphoma detected at an early stage. The treatment required is clear: I must complete a treatment with six months of chemotherapy,” Suarez Navarro said.
“That’s the only goal I have in mind right now. Everything else becomes automatically secondary.”
Muguruza said she was told the news by her close friend a couple days before it went public. At one stage the duo formed a formidable doubles partnership on the WTA Tour by winning three Premier titles between 2014-2015. They also reached the semi-finals of the 2014 French Open together.
“When we spoke a few days ago when she gave me the news, I was, I think, shocked, because I was expecting to see her in this tournament,” Muguruza told reporters following her first round win at the US Open.
“You know, she’s such a nice woman, so sweet, so kind, so humble.”
The former world No.1 has dedicated her latest win over Japan’s Nao Hibino to Saurez Navarro who had originally planned to retire from the sport this year prior the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the Tour. The Spaniard hasn’t played a match since her loss to Petra Kvitova at the Qatar Open back in February.
“When these things happen to good people I feel so sad about it,” she said.
“I, for sure, will dedicate this win to her, because I want her to feel that we are behind her, that I am behind her, and I will go and see her at some point when it is fine.’
“We shared a decade of emotions and everything. It’s a shock for me, somebody so close that is going through this.”
Suarez Navarro is currently ranked 71st in the WTA rankings but has been ranked as high as sixth. She has won two WTA singles titles and made more than $11M in prize money so far in her career.
