Former Italian star Francesca Schiavone earns cheers from fans after she revealed that she just won her battle against cancer. The 2010 French Open champ opened up about her health struggles on her social media accounts. In a video uploaded on her Instagram, she explained that it was her cancer diagnosis that prompted her to stay silent online for the past seven to eight months.
Francesca Schiavone’s career diagnosis
It was the first time that Schiavone told the public about her cancer diagnosis. According to the former Italian tennis player, doctors diagnosed her with having a malignant tumor. After diagnosis, she started going to chemotherapy right away.
The 39-year old Italian described the cancer diagnosis as the toughest battles that she had to face in her life. Now that she was able to win against the illness, she promised her fans that she will get back to some of her projects soon.
Retirement and other plans
It can be recalled that Schiavone announced her retirement right after last year’s US Open. She recalled feeling at peace with her decision to walk away from the tennis court.
At the time, the now-39 year-old Italian woman opened up how she dreamt to win the French Open and to become a top 10 player when she was a kid. She was glad that she was able to achieve both.
When asked about her plans after her retirement, she mentioned how she wanted to become a coach. She told the press that one of her goals is to win a Grand Slam as part of a coaching team.
Schiavone’s career
Schiavone had a pretty remarkable tennis career before she announced her retirement last year.
She was on the WTA Tour for close to two decades, becoming a professional in 1998. She became the first Italian female player to win a Grand Slam tournament, achieving it in the 2010 French Open. She also got close to achieving a back-to-back win in 2011 but lost to Chinese tennis star Li Na.
She reached her career peak of no. 4 in the rankings in January 2011, right after her Australian Open stint. Throughout her career, she won a total of eight titles in the WTA Tour.
She was a pretty prolific doubles player as well. She reached her peak at no. 8 in the doubles world ranking. With her doubles partner, Australian player Casey Dellacqua, she was able to qualify for the finals of the 2008 French Open. They, however, lost to Spanish players Virginia Pascual and Anabel Garrigues.
Schiavone also had an instrumental role in three of Italy’s victories in the Fed Cup. She helped lead the team in the 2006, 2009 and 2010 editions of the tournament.
Francesca Schiavone |
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