While Gabriela Dabrowski was winning a bronze medal for Canada in mixed doubles with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Paris Olympics last summer, and the WTA Finals Riyadh title with Erin Routliffe last fall, she was also battling off the court. The Canadian revealed Tuesday that she played through breast cancer treatments last season after being diagnosed with the disease in April. 

“The Unseen of 2024: How can something so small cause such a big problem? This is the question I asked myself when I was diagnosed with breast cancer back in mid-April,” she wrote in a lengthy post on In stagram. “I know this will come as a shock to many, but I am OK and I will be OK. Early detection saves lives. I can wholeheartedly agree with this.”

Dabrowski, 32, first discovered a lump in her left breast during a 2023 self-exam, she said, but was reassured by a doctor that it was no cause for concern. A year later, it grew, and she underwent a biopsy at Advent Health Hospital in Wesley Chapel, Fla. The results came back the same day, she said.

“These are words you never expect to hear, and in an instant your life or the life of a loved one turns upside down," Dabrowski continued.

What followed was a "surreal" second half of the season, Dabrowski said, which included two surgeries at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, radiation treatments and endocrine therapy. She even revealed "a slight delay in treatment to be able to compete at Wimbledon and the Olympics" -- where, at the former, she and Routliffe reached the final, and at the latter, she became the first Canadian woman to reach any tennis podium.

Dabrowski admitted that she chose not to share her diagnosis and treatment immediately because she wanted to “handle things privately” with those closest to her while there were so many unknowns about her disease, and she initially "wasn’t ready to expose [herself] to the possible attention and questions." But now, she says her experiences have reshaped the way she sees herself and her tennis career.

"When the threat of losing everything I’d worked for my entire life became a real possibility, only then did I begin to authentically appreciate what I had," she said.

“My mindset shifted from ‘I have to do this (play tennis and not waste my skills),’ to, ‘I get to do this.’ Through this lens I find it so much easier to find joy in areas of my life I previously viewed as a heavy weight."

“Currently, I’m in a place where I have a better grasp of my treatment, side effects and how to manage them,” she added. “Please know I am fully aware of how lucky I am as well, because many do not get the luxury of being able to tell their story at all.”

Dabrowski's reveal was met with shock, awe and support from her Hologic WTA Tour peers, with Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur hailing her in the comments of her post as "amazing" and Jessica Pegula writing that the Canadian was so "effing strong." 

Her doubles partner Routliffe sent a heartfelt message to "[her] gal," writing she was "lucky to be by [Dabrowski's] side through it all."

"Here’s to more smiling in 2025," the Canadian-born New Zealander added.

“It is a privilege to be able to call myself a survivor," Dabrowski said.