Tennis great Martina Navratilova diagnosed with two forms of cancer

Tennis great Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with two forms of cancer.

In a statement released by her representative, the 66-year-old says she has been diagnosed with type HPV throat cancer and is facing her second bout with breast cancer, which is unrelated to the throat cancer and was discovered during examinations of her throat.

“This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I’m hoping for a favorable outcome,” the 18-time Grand Slam winner said. “It’s going to stink for a while, but I’ll fight with all I have got.”

She said she noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck while attending the season-ending WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, in November, and a biopsy showed early stage throat cancer.

Navratilova was diagnosed with a noninvasive breast cancer in 2010. She was deemed cancer-free six months later following a lumpectomy and radiation treatment.

Navratilova won 59 Grand Slam titles overall, including 31 in women’s doubles and 10 in mixed doubles. The last was a mixed doubles championship with Bob Bryan at the 2006 U.S. Open, a month shy of her 50th birthday. She ranks third on the all-time list of Grand Slam singles titles in the Open era, behind only Serena Williams (23) and Steffi Graf (22) and tied with Chris Evert (18).

Navratilova originally retired in 1994, after a record 167 singles titles and 331 weeks at No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She returned to the tour to play doubles in 2000 and occasionally competed in singles, too.

Navratilova was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000. She has worked as a TV analyst in recent years.

The statement issued Monday said Navratilova would not be a regular part of Tennis Channel’s coverage of the Australian Open later this month “but hopes to be able to join in from time to time” via video conference.

Files from The Associated Press were used in this report