Victoria Duval: An Athlete Who Suffered The Wrath Of Cancer

Victoria Duval also popularly known as Vicky Duval is an American Tennis player who once ranked 87 in the world of Singles in Tennis. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma during her 2014 Wimbledon tournament which drained her of all vigour. She never lost hope and went ahead to compete against Sorana Cristea whom she defeated in 3 sets. It was during this period that she received the news of her ailment from the doctors but she decided to continue with the game. Later during the second round she faced defeat at the hands of Bellinda Bencic.  From there she left for United States to undergo treatment and chemotherapy. She and her mother called the treatment “Chemo-dancing”. This itself stands witness to the high spirits of the player who did not let herself fall prey to the deadly disease.

Hardships are common for Duval as she suffered a lot since childhood. Once she was kidnapped at the age of 7 and during her training in Atlanta in 2010, a violent earthquake struck Haiti and her father was trapped within the debris for about 11 hours. It was a difficult time for her but with the help of several kind people she could get her father treated properly. Cancer was the third catastrophe that struck in her life at a very young age. But the distinctive and high pitched girl never lost hopes and fought as bravely as she would with her opponent on the grass courts of Tennis.

Also read: Riding With Hope:harteij Bhartesh And The Ride Of Hope

Good news came to her fans when she returned for the 2016 Wimbledon tournament on Monday June 27 with a clear bill on her health. She played against Daria Kasatkina but lost after 3 sets of game 3-0. 6-0 and 7-5. “At about 3-0 in the first set, I just felt really overwhelmed. I wanted to crawl into a ball,” Duval said. After the end of the game she pulled a towel over her head “I was like, ‘I don’t want anybody to look at me’. It was just a lot of emotions and they were mostly positive but I know what I’m capable of and the fact I’m not there is eating inside of me.”

The world of Tennis awaits this great player with keen eyes and high hopes. She attempts to rise from her present 572nd rank as she is well aware of her own possibilities. Her story has inspired many such athletes who have suffered the wrath of cancer.

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