WTA Charities’ 2023 ACEing Cancer campaign honors survivor Carla Suarez Navarro

FLASHBACK: Carla Suarez Navarro completes her cancer treatment and makes a healthy return to tennis | The Break

Every shot counts on the WTA Tour—but now, women’s tennis players will have even more motivation to serve up an ace.

WTA Charities, the philanthropic arm of the WTA, and title sponsor Hologic have teamed up once again to support researchers and nonprofits dedicated to fighting women’s cancers through the ACEing Cancer campaign. Every singles ace served at all WTA 1000 and WTA 500 tournaments will be matched by a donation from Hologic.

This year’s campaign will honor former Top 10 player Carla Suarez Navarro, a seven-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2020. After an eight-month battle with the illness, she returned to the tour in 2021 before her retirement.

"The message I would give to everyone about health would be to tell them the importance of visiting the doctor and getting check-ups to detect possible illnesses,” Suarez Navarro said. “Catching them in time can save many lives, as it did mine."

A portion of the proceeds from ACEing Cancer campaigns are also used to fund grants for researchers studying women’s cancers. The grants are co-founded by WTA Charities and its fundraising partner Cancer Research Racquet, and title sponsor Hologic.

Last year’s research grant was recently awarded to Jennifer Karlow, PhD, for her work at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute on understanding initial ovarian cancer development in order to both identify new markers of early tumor formation and develop effective therapies.

The 2022 campaign also honored the late Jeanne Evert Dubin, sister of WTA legend Chris Evert. She passed away in 2020 as a result of ovarian cancer, a diagnosis Evert would eventually face herself. Evert credited her sister’s cancer battle with motivating her to get tested, which led to the early detection of her own ovarian cancer.

"Sooner or later, cancer has a way of touching all our lives," said Evert. "I know the donations from this campaign will make a difference, and I encourage everyone to stay on top of their testing. It might save a life like it did mine."

While the sport’s ace queens help raise money on the court, tennis fans are also encouraged to support the ACEing Cancer campaign with donations. Click here to learn more.