Canadian tennis star Gabriela Dabrowski reveals she played season while battling cancer

Canadian doubles star Gabriela Dabrowski made history in November when she became the first Canadian to win the WTA Finals alongside her partner, New Zealand's Erin Routliffe.

It came just a few months after the Ottawa's native captured a mixed doubles bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics with Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal.

But what no one knew was that Dabrowski accomplished all of this while battling breast cancer, a diagnosis she received in mid-April.

The 32-year-old shared her diagnosis for the first time on Tuesday in an Instagram post, with the hope of emphasizing the life you can continue to live if the illness is detected early.

"I know this will come as a shock to many, but I am okay and I will be okay," Dabrowski wrote in the post. "Early detection saves lives. I can wholeheartedly agree with this."

Dabrowski was named Tennis Canada's women's doubles player of the year for 2024. Ranked third in the world in doubles, her season culminated with the historic WTA Finals win in Saudi Arabia in November.

WATCH | Dabrowski reflects on historic year:

Canadian tennis star Gabriela Dabrowski reflects on historic year

As she reached new heights in her tennis career, Dabrowski wrote that her cancer diagnosis helped her see things in a new light, including her friends and family, the game she loves, and even the chance to play with Routliffe.

"If you saw me smiling more on court in the past six months, it was genuine," she wrote.

"A great reminder that you have no idea what people are going through," Routliffe wrote about her doubles partner on Instagram on Tuesday. "Here's to more smiling in 2025."

Dabrowski wrote that she first discovered a lump in her left breast during a self-exam in the spring of 2023. A doctor