The BBC panel, consisting of Martina Navratilova, Claire Balding, Billie Jean King, and Eugenie Bouchard, was busy analyzing the breathless semifinal between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova. But the mood in the room soon grew somber as they discussed heavier topics, which moved Navratilova to the brink of tears. The discussion had moved towards Chris Evert‘s cancer returning for the third time, which led her to miss SW19 this year.

“She will be OK”, said Navratilova during the panel discussion on the BBC. “It’s tough, I cannot talk about it without crying because we just found out before the tournament that the cancer came back, but she will be OK. She’s tough as nails.”

Evert made the heartbreaking announcement of her ovarian cancer relapse just a short while ahead of Wimbledon. The American stated she had already undergone surgical procedures, with a chemotherapy regimen scheduled to begin in the near future.

This is not the first time that Evert has been in a battle against cancer, as the 18-time Major champion had her first diagnosis back in 2021. The condition was uncovered through gene tests, which showed that the American player had a similar mutation to her sister, who had the same condition as well. Evert beat cancer in 2023, only for it to return by the end of the same year. She remained resolute and battled past the disease once more by 2024.

Of all the things they have achieved in their amazing careers, cancer has been a common bond between Navratilova and Evert. Navratilova herself had multiple bouts against the deadly disease as she battled past breast cancer back in 2010, which recurred again in 2023, along with throat cancer. The timeline overlapped for both the legendary players, as Evert and Navratilova became each other’s biggest support systems, something recently captured in the Netflix series “The Final Set”.

As their on-court careers intertwined, Evert and Navratilova continued their partnership both on and off the court.

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert Remain Partners Beyond Tennis

Understandably, both Evert and Navratilova have worked together to raise awareness and the necessary financial resources to find a cure for cancer, which they did at an event hosted by the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Both tennis legends held a live talking session, sharing their joint battles against cancer, which was a huge hit, raising over a $1.5 million for research directed specifically to cell therapy and cancer treatment.

Evert and Navratilova have been heavily involved in the sport through broadcasting, with Evert being a crucial member of the ESPN team. On the other hand, Navratilova has been on regular duty on Tennis Channel for over a decade while also serving as an analyst on the BBC. Due to the unique collaboration between ESPN and Tennis Channel, fans have enjoyed the Evert-Navratilova duo in the commentary booth countless times for the past decade and a half.

Shaping women’s tennis in the late 1970s and through the better part of the 1980s, the Evert-Navratilova rivalry is one of the biggest ones in the sport. Over an 80-match contest, the two of them held a dominant hold over Grand Slams between 1978 and 1987. The pair won 2 Grand Slam doubles titles together, often meeting in the finals of the biggest events in the sport.