Tennis legend Björn Borg has revealed he is living with advanced prostate cancer, calling it an everyday battle but one he is ready to face with the same spirit that won him 11 Grand Slam titles.
The 69 year old Swede shared the news in his new autobiography, saying the disease is “extremely aggressive” and that he takes life “day by day, year by year.” Borg had surgery in 2024 but admits the diagnosis has been tough to handle. “The doctor told me it was really bad,” he explained. “Every six months I go for tests. It’s something I’ll live with.”
Borg said he had been checking himself for years, but doctors first noticed problems in 2023. At the time, he was away captaining at the Laver Cup and only returned for more tests later. “The thing is, you feel fine and then suddenly it’s there,” he said.
Borg’s story began when his father won a tennis racquet in a table tennis competition. Too heavy for a child, it pushed him to develop the famous two handed backhand that became his trademark.
From 1974 to 1981, Borg won six French Open titles and five straight Wimbledon crowns. His 1980 Wimbledon final against John McEnroe, where he won after McEnroe saved seven match points, is still seen as one of the greatest matches in tennis history. “That was the most satisfying match I ever played,” Borg recalled.
His cool, emotionless style on court earned him the nickname “Ice,” in contrast to McEnroe’s fiery outbursts. Their rivalry, along with battles against Jimmy Connors, shaped tennis in the late 70s and early 80s. Borg retired in 1983 at just 25, shocking the sport.
“We were all fighting to be the best,” Borg said. “You can’t be close friends when you’re rivals. But now, John and I are very good friends. We see each other often, have dinner, and talk about today’s tennis never about the old matches.”
Borg’s career ended early, but life afterwards proved harder. In his memoir Heartbeats: A Memoir, co written with his wife Patricia, he admits he lost direction and turned to alcohol and drugs to cope. In 1989, he was hospitalised after an overdose in Milan, an event that forced him to reassess his life.
He tried a comeback in the early 90s but failed to win a match. “I was close to dying many times,” Borg writes. “I fixed my life. Now I’m happy with myself.”
Fighting spirit lives on
Borg won 66 singles titles, spent 109 weeks as world number one, and holds a record 41-match unbeaten run at Wimbledon. But today, he faces his greatest challenge.
For Borg, the fight with cancer is another test of focus and discipline. “I hope I’m going to be OK,” he said. “I take it day by day, year by year, hopefully.” Beyond tennis, Björn Borg’s name lives on through a very successful fashion brand, especially its underwear line.
