The tennis star's rep confirmed her diagnosis.
Tennis star Martina Navratilova is battling stage one throat and breast cancer. Navratilova's rep shared her diagnosis in a statement to ET Monday.
"Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with stage 1 throat cancer," the statement read. "The cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment."
According to her rep, the 66-year-old athlete discovered an enlarged lymph node in her neck late last year. A biopsy was done shortly after, and she was later diagnosed with stage one throat cancer. While undergoing throat tests, an unrelated form of breast cancer was also found.
Navratilova addressed the news to Tennis.com, telling the outlet that she's hoping for "a favorable outcome."
"This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I’m hoping for a favorable outcome," Navratilova told the outlet. "It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all have I got."
She also took to Twitter Monday, where she thanked her fans for their support.
"Needless to say my phone and twitter are both blowing up so I will say again- thank you all for your support and I am not done yet:) Xoxoxo," she wrote.
The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion will begin treatment this month.
Navratilova was previously diagnosed with non-invasive breast cancer -- ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS -- in 2010.
Speaking to People about her breast cancer diagnosis at the time, Navratilova admitted she didn't talk about breast cancer much before being diagnosed with the disease. She was deemed cancer free six months after her diagnosis, following a lumpectomy and six weeks of radiation.
"I really didn’t talk much about breast cancer before I had it," Navratilova told People. "Now, I’m approached by women and we share our stories. It’s encouraging to see that there’s life after cancer."
Navratilova had a storied tennis career before retiring from the sport in 2006. She became the first person to win Wimbledon's singles category nine times -- beating a previous record of eight all-time championships with her win in 1990. She won the coveted tournament an additional 11 times in two doubles categories.
Off the court, she has been working at the Tennis Channel covering the sport as a commentator. She was set to cover the Australian Open from the channel's studio, but is hoping to join coverage via Zoom amid her cancer diagnoses. Navratilova has also been seen on The Real Housewives of Miami alongside her wife Julia Lemigova. The 50-year-old model is a Housewife on the show, which is currently in its fifth season.
Lemigova opened up about her wife's health in her own social media post Monday, taking to Instagram to thank fans for reaching out.
"Thank you to everyone who has reached out to share words of support. Together, we will fight this ♥️," she wrote.
The post was met with love and words of encouragement from her RHOM castmates, with Larsa Pippen leaving behind two red heart emojis in the comments, and Lemigova's friend and bestie on the show, Adriana de Moura, writing, "Yes! Together we will win this battle 🙏❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏."
Guerdy Abraira also commented, writing, "We love you both and positive thoughts only 😍❤️," as well as RHOM's Lisa Hochstein and Marysol Patton.
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