Mark Selby bravely admits ‘I’ve got a lot going on’ as he opens up on wife’s cancer

Snooker’s world No5 Mark Selby has revealed his wife has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer over the last year, with the disease also claiming the life of their friend

Mark Selby of England celebrates victory with his wife and daughter
Snooker star Mark Selby’s wife Vikki is battling breast cancer

Mark Selby has admirably opened up on his struggles away from snooker – with wife Vikki suffering with cancer and a close friend dying from the disease.

The family were rocked by the news that Vikki had breast cancer shortly after Selby’s English Open triumph in December 2022. That triggered a relapse of his mental health issues, having previously spoke about battling depression.

As per the Metro, Vikki is now recovering well and has had positive test results. But tragically, cancer has recently claimed the life of one of their closest family friends.

Selby said: “I’ve had a lot going on off the table, a few lapses from what I mentioned before with my mental health. We had some bad news just over a week ago.

“One of my best mates, Dave, his wife sadly passed away with cancer at 44. She’s got a little girl who’s 12. She’s best mate to Vikki, so it’s been quite tough the last two weeks.”

Andy Murray’s ‘real name’ revealed in new advert exposing the ‘biggest secret in tennis’dailystar
Ex-boxer KO’d by Anthony Joshua is now bailiff threatened by angry man in viral videodailystar
The 40-year-old explained how he’d wanted to pull out of last month’s Grand Prix but was convinced by his best friend to continue as that’s what his wife would’ve wanted.

“With Vikki’s treatments and scans coming up you’re obviously always a bit nervous,” he added. Selby labelled Vikki his “rock” last year, attributing her support with saving his snooker career.

He credits his other half for saving his career after his mental health struggles (Image: Instagram/markselby_7)
He managed to reach the World Championship final last year, narrowly losing out on a fifth Crucible crown to Luca Brecel despite making a 147 break. Vikki, who began checking her own body after her friend’s diagnosis, was undergoing radiotherapy at the time.

“‘She’s been stronger than me throughout it, for sure,” Selby admitted. “When it was first announced I was completely blown apart. Obviously with how my mental health was before anyway, that multiplied it.

“She’s been the one supporting me! It should be the other way round, but people say that, it always seems to be the person going through it that’s the strongest.”