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Carla Suarez Navarro
Tennis News, WTA Tennis Players

Carla Suarez Navarro to “go again into a big tournament” after cancer


After being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2020, Carla Suarez Navarro is hoping to return again to tennis – possibly at the Tokyo Olympics.

Suarez Navarro, a former world number six and seven-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist, said on Twitter earlier this week that she is due to finish treatment soon.

The Spaniard told BBC World Service that, “I don’t want people to remember me in a hospital bed, so I’d like to go again into a big tournament.

“It would be a dream to do that – an Olympic Games to say bye to my tennis family and also all my tennis fans.”

The 32-year-old could potentially team up with fellow Spaniard and former Fed Cup teammate, Garbine Muguruza, in Tokyo if Suarez Navarro recovers in time.

“I’ll feel so much joy and happiness when that moment comes,” she said. “I’ll be very thankful and a little bit nervous to be on the court again.

“Hopefully it can happen in Tokyo. Hopefully we can go and play together again but there’s a lot that needs to be seen yet.”

Suarez Navarro is still ranked in the top 100 of the WTA rankings due to the pandemic freezing standings for much of 2020, but says that her recovery is “slow progress.”

“What doctors said is basically that tennis and doing a sport was good for me so I decided to carry on with it.

“When Sara Errani came to Barcelona to train, it was really good. I played with her plenty of times – I played doubles with her. It was a very nice experience because it was the first time I’d got hold of a racquet in a few months.”


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.