Feelings of death and loss grapple tennis by the throat as former World No. 1 battles terminal illness

Max Mirnyi was reported to have suffered consistent headaches for a long time, and he finally sought medical attention a month ago. It was then revealed that he had a head tumor and needed immediate surgery following an MRI scan. 

A craniotomy was done that took eight hours to complete, and the tumor was finally removed. The Belarusian’s wife and four children were present in the hospital during the surgery.

The player is recovering well, and the fact that he has already traveled back to Florida to continue further treatment shows that the recovery process is going smoothly. The player and his family seem optimistic, and that is much needed during times like this. 

Notably, Max Mirnyi was also at the center of a controversy a few days ago when he visited Minsk to conduct a masterclass. In the past, he had condemned the security forces for their violence against Belarusians during the 2020 elections.

Upon his visit to the capital city, he expressed regret over his earlier criticism. Mirnyi is pretty famous in his country, and thus his words led to a big debate. 

Max Mirnyi’s career at a glance 

Max Mirnyi had a career-high singles ranking of World No. 18, but it was the doubles that he excelled at. He had a record of 780-445 in doubles and won 52 titles throughout his career. 

Moreover, as mentioned earlier, he had 10 Grand Slam doubles titles, which shows what kind of player he was. Apart from that, he also has four Grand Slam titles in the mixed-doubles event. 

The Belarusian has won a combined prize money of $11,763,620 throughout his career. One of the highlights of his career, however, was winning the gold medal in the mixed-doubles event of the 2012 Olympics alongside his partner Victoria Azarenka.

\The duo beat Andy Murray and Laura Robson from Great Britain to clinch the victory. He finally retired on 29 November 2018 after an extremely successful career.