Early life[edit]
Björn Borg was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on 6 June 1956, as the only child of Rune (1932-2008)
and Margaretha Borg (b. 1934). [10] He grew up in nearby Södertälje. As a child, Borg became
fascinated with a golden tennis racket that his father won at a table-tennis tournament. His father
gave him the racket, beginning his tennis career. [11]
A player of great athleticism and endurance, he had a distinctive style and appearance—
bowlegged and very fast. His muscularity allowed him to put heavy topspin on both his forehand and
two-handed backhand. He followed Jimmy Connors in using the two-handed backhand. By the time
he was 13 he was beating the best of Sweden's under-18 players, and Davis Cup captain Lennart
Bergelin (who served as Borg's primary coach throughout his professional career) cautioned against
anyone trying to change Borg's rough-looking, jerky strokes. [12]
Career[edit]
1972/73 – Davis Cup debut and first year on the tour[edit]
At the age of 15 Borg represented Sweden in the 1972 Davis Cup and won his debut singles rubber
in five sets against veteran Onny Parun of New Zealand. Later that year, he won the Wimbledon
junior singles title, recovering from a 5–2 deficit in the final set to overcome Britain's Buster Mottram.
Then in December he won the Orange Bowl Junior Championship for boys 18 and under after a
straight-sets victory in the final over Vitas Gerulaitis.[13][14] Borg joined the professional circuit in 1973,
and reached his first singles final in April at the Monte Carlo Open which he lost to Ilie Năstase.[15] He
was unseeded at his first French Open and reached the fourth round where he lost in four sets to
eight-seeded Adriano Panatta. Borg was seeded sixth at his first Wimbledon Championships, in
large part due to a boycott by the ATP, and reached the quarterfinal where he was defeated in a
five-set match by Roger Taylor.[16] In the second half of 1973 he was runner-up in San
Francisco, Stockholm and Buenos Aires and finished the year ranked No. 18.[15][17]
Laver Cup[edit]
From 22–24 September 2017, Borg was the victorious captain of Team Europe in the first ever
edition of the Laver Cup, held in Prague, Czech Republic. Borg's Team Europe defeated a rest of
the world team, known as Team World, who were coached by Borg's old rival, John McEnroe.
Europe won the contest 15 points to 9, with Roger Federer achieving a narrow vital victory over Nick
Kyrgios in the last match played.
Borg returned as the coach of Team Europe for the second edition in Chicago, Illinois from
September 21–23, 2018. McEnroe also returned as the coach for Team World. Borg again lead
Europe to victory as Alexander Zverev defeated Kevin Anderson to secure the title 13–8, after
trailing Anderson in the match tiebreak until the last few points.
Career statistics[edit]
Main article: Björn Borg career statistics
Singles performance timeline[edit]
Key
W F SF QF #R RR Q# A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#)
qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
Tournamen 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 197 198 198 S Win
W–L
t 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 R %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian 0/
A A 3R A A A A A A A 1–1 50.00
Open 1
French 6/ 49–
A 4R W W QF A W W W W 96.08
Open 8 2
5/ 51–
Wimbledon A QF 3R QF W W W W W F 92.73
9 4
0/ 40–
US Open PR* 4R 2R SF F 4R F QF F F 80.00
10 10
11
10– 11– 16– 17– 10– 20– 18– 20– 19– 141
Win–Loss 0–1 / 89.24
3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 –17
28
Year-end championship
The 2/ 16–
A A RR F A F A W W A 72.72
Masters[a] 5 6
1/ 10–
WCT Finals A A F F W A SF F A A 76.92
5 3
Year-end
18 3 3 2 3 2 1 1 4 $3,655,751
ranking
The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December. Borg did not play in
either.
The 1972 US Open had a special preliminary round before the main 128 player draw began.
Records[edit]
Main article: All-time tennis records – men's singles
These records were attained in the entire period of tennis from 1877. [64]
Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
^ Denotes consecutive streak.
