Olympic medalist Gabriela Dabrowski reveals why 'cancer had to happen to me’

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As Canadian tennis star Gabriela Dabrowski nears the one-year anniversary of her cancer diagnosis, the three-time Grand Slam champion revealed in a recent interview that the life-changing news she received in the spring of 2024 changed her outlook on life for the better. 

Dabrowski, who won her first Olympic medal in Paris just months after being diagnosed with breast cancer, first revealed in an Instagram post on New Year’s Eve that, despite all the success she had seen that season, she had been keeping a secret. 

Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada in action at the U.S. Open on August 29, 2024. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

She had first observed a lump in her left breast during a "self-exam" in 2023, but it was later dismissed by another doctor. The following year, in the spring, a WTA doctor suggested she get another evaluation, and after a series of testing, Dabrowski was diagnosed with breast cancer.

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"I don't regret what the doctor told me then [in 2023], because I'm really happy with how my year turned out, what I learned, what I experienced," she told Olympics.com last week. "It's an acknowledgment that cancer is something really messed up and it can be very scary." 

Unbeknownst to her fans, Dabrowski underwent treatment but remained on the court. She won two doubles titles, including the WTA Tour Final, and earned her first Olympic medal at the Summer Games. She also reached a new career-high in doubles ranking, coming in at No. 3. 

Gabriela Dabrowski celebrates after winning the bronze medal in mixed doubles during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games. (Amber Searls-USA