Tennis legend Chrissie Evert says recurrence of ovarian cancer is why she won’t be commentating for ESPN at Australian Open

This is scary but she seems to again have caught it early. Chrissie Evert, who was treated two years ago for Stage 1 ovarian cancer, is again undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Her sister, Jeanne Evert Dubin, died from ovarian cancer in February 2020 at age 62.

“I encourage everyone to know your family history and advocate for yourself,” Evert said in the statement. “Early detection saves lives. Be thankful for your health this holiday season.”

Chrissie, one of the most accomplished tennis players in history, joined ESPN in 2011 as an analyst, and has since covered all four Grand Slam events – including ESPN’s current unprecedented position of start-to-finish coverage of three – the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Evert won 18 major singles championships (two Australian Open, three Wimbledon, and a record six US Open and seven French Open titles), winning at least one each year for 13 consecutive years (1974-1986). She retired in 1989 with 157 singles titles overall, and a career win-loss record of 1,309-146 (.900), the best of any professional player in history.

Wishing her the best in her treatment and recovery.

A message from @ChrissieEvert

Evert will not be part of ESPN's 2024 @AustralianOpen coverage pic.twitter.com/LKGmKDBNGU

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) December 8, 2023

We're in this together! ???????????????? Thanks for the delicious food ⁦@Martina⁩ ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LKgYCTmRMx

— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) December 10, 2023