He was the Golden Nugget to tennis popularity and a Gentleman , with great style uniqueness

He's the reason I picked up a tennis racquet in my youth in the late 70's. While I emulated the playing styles of players like Sampras and Federer, I'm forever indebted to him for loving tennis very strongly to this day.

Borg practically reinvented the game of tennis. Before him players were using serve volley, one handed back hands and mainly sliced backhands. Borg introduced severe topspin on both wings plus he had amazing movement and towards the end of his time he developed a very powerful serve. Jimmy Connors developed on similar lines although he hit his two handed backhand much flatter. The modern game owes much to these two greats.

My parents would gather the whole family for the Wimbledon final match when I was a kid. Even though, living in Canada the match match was pretty early, we'd have a special breakfast and all, and watch the match with 7 of us squeezed and on and around the sofa. At that young age, Borg defined for me what a real champion and sportsman was. Fought for every point, yet never winged or complained. The spectacle he provided was his skill and spirit, not outbursts of bad temper. Great memories!

Borg Was Always My Favorite A Outstanding Player ,A True Legendary Iconic Figure 💓🙏

Borg won his 11th grand slam singles title one day after he turned 25 years old (winning the 1981 French Open on June 7th, 1981). No male player has won as many GS singles titles by that age. Rafa is the closest with 10 GS titles by that age, Roger had won 8 by that age, Sampras had won 7 and Novak had won just 5. The fact that Borg won more than anyone at that early age is enough for him to be seen as the best young men's player ever... but there is even more reason to consider Borg as a legitimate contender as the best men's player ever. Bjorn Borg only played at the Australian Open ONE time (back when he was just 17 years old). There were EIGHT Ausie Opens that he did not play in during his prime years... and he probably would have been the favorite to win the event in 6 of them. Plus he missed the French Open in 1977 which he also would have been the favorite to win. So Borg "could" have won 7 more GS titles by the time he had won his final GS title (the day after he turned 25 years old) which would have put him at EIGHTEEN GS singles titles. Imagine if Borg had won 18 GS singles titles by the time he just turned 25. That could have actually happened. THAT... is how good Borg was.

It is entirely possible that he was the best player ever, but we'll never know how much more he would have achieved. I was crushed when he retired at age 26.

His achievement of the French Wimbledon double hat trick on vastly different slower high bouncing clay and low bouncing grass is unmatched even in today's homogenized conditions today (much faster clay and higher bouncing and overall slower grass). Only Nadal (2008,2010), Federer (2009) and Djokovic (2021) have even accomplished this. Absolutely stellar achievement. One of a kind

One of best players of all time. He won all those majors and retired at 25. He did it all with a wooden racquet which were much less forgiving than today’s equipment. Incredibly quick around the court, he could serve and volley and play from the baseline.

Borg learnt his way of play himself, no academy. Started against a garage door with a heavy racket made for adults. He fought everybody including trainers who wanted to change him.

Where tennis began for me. 11 titles at 25 - we'll never know what he could've accomplished. And all this without partaking in the Australian Open either (bar one time in 74, I think). Surprised not to see that mentioned. We talk about the Big 3 nowadays but the Big 3 back then was Connors, McEnroe and Borg. It was the start of Superstar tennis imho...

Amazing that Borg and Evert appeared in the same era and dominated with similar styles and temperaments. Icy composure blended with merciless killer instinct.

He’s a game changer. Top 5 all time Quality over quantity. 11 slams in short time span. Won on slow clay and fast grass 3 years in a row in a short turnaround. This record will never be broken. Made topspin popular.

In my opinion Borg was the best of his era.

He was and still is the greatest. No one can do the THE IMPOSSIBLE DOUBLE. I mean winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back...No one not even Rafa, Federer or even Djokovic...The abbility to do that ranks him into the greatest athletes of all time, together with Mohamed Ali

My dad really enjoyed Borg's play style. He introduced me to him when I was a wee little boy.

❤The man was a joy to watch a master of game and mind

Now that's the real GOAT. 11 GS without even playing in AO by the age of 26 against legends like Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, etc. A player who also drastically changed the game (baseliner, 2-handed backhand, topspin, etc). Now that's what GOAT's are made of imho, not players who stick around the game in their late 30s trying to accumulate stats.

Borg was amazing! He made the whole country proud af ⭐⭐⭐

He was LEGENDARY

Borg is the GOAT because he won 6 times on the SLOWEST surface (Paris) and 5 times on the FASTEST surface (Wimbledon). Noone else have done that.

Hands down one of the best players who ever lived. His relaxed and natural style is unique in all of tennis history.

It's impossible to say who's best given the changes to everything from equipment to playing surfaces, but head-to-head sport is really defined by rivalries. We've been blessed to have the Federer/Nadal/Djokovic era, but Borg v McEnroe was a lot more, let's say, colourful, and such a massive contrast of styles both in play and personality. All of them have left a massive imprint on the history of the game.

I really enjoyed your video. All those shorts you showed Borg wearing were the perfect length for him. He was so well-groomed and well-dressed in those days that he keeps those old film clips from looking dated, whereas McEnroe and some of the other players appear to be wearing their hair too long, even though that was the fashion in those days.

Borg was beautiful as a player. He dominated through great strokes fantastic conditioning and tremendous footwork. Like his racquets Borg was strung too tight. He could have kept winning French Open titles at the very least for the foreseeable future in 1982 and 1983.

I saw him playing tennis in Rio de Janeiro - must have been good at his time. Greetings to all from one of the most beautiful places in the world 🌞🎾🤗👍

Borg was and still remain the GOAT. Roger is the only one who have the same amount of class

2:22 this was A LOT more difficult back then, when the W grass was a lot faster. over the last 20 years, grass and hard have been slowed down.

An incredible legend probably hardly known by the youth today, especially regarding his outstanding records, especially presented in the manner in this video. Thanks a million Tennis Plus for this superb video. Cheers! M

I'd love to see a similar video on Monica Seles if there isn't one (or see a link if there is one). For a different reason her career was cut short, but her impact on the game and her dominance at the height of her career is incredibly admirable even to this day. Seles came along when women's tennis had a new massively dominant player (Graf) and unceremoniously dethroned her. It is both a shame and a loss to both women that Seles had to leave the game robbing herself of GS titles and Graf the opportunity to adapt and potentially become an even better player to counter Seles' dominance.

Lucky enough to see him play in Toronto when I was a teen. My idol.

He retired because he was so wired up. It surprised me some years ago to learn about his regime and superstitions around playing at Wimbledon for example, it sounded surreal re his fanatical adherence to every little thing leading up to a match and being there, the car taking him to the courts, the driver etc etc etc, it was literally mind blowing the minute detail that he had to have 'just right'. During that '75-'81 period I was glued to the TV watching his results and his career, it was incredible, he was the 'good guy', what a majestic player and personality he was then.

Bjorn Borg was my favorite tennis player. I became so anxious when he played vs McEnroe. Their rivalry was epic. They are 7-7 in official matches but I remember Borg won in Anversa/Antwerp (Belgium) a golden racket beating up John 3 matches to 1 or something like that. My cousin is called Bjorn in his honor 😂

Borg at ages 22-23 was unbeatable. He ran down everything, never made an error, and the more you pressured him, the better he played. But that was all in the era of wooden rackets.

Chrissie was ahead of Borg in using 2 handed bh. The ice maiden and iceberg. Both my idols in quietness and proper decorum. Borg is d 1 who i 1st saw using d topspin lob. Now, i see carlos as part of his arsenal.

Others might have more majors and better stats but for coolness and swagger BORG will always be my all time fave...tennis' first rock star !

If he played past 26, he could have been the all time GOAT

Thanks for explaining

Probably the fastest player ever.Amazing court coverage. With todays technology he would’ve impossible to beat on clay, except against Nadal.When he retired I quit watching pro tennis until I discovered Rafa.With todays technology that would have been a match I’d pay to see.

Borg was and still mysterious figure great best tennis player

It's difficult to overstate how big Borg was back in the late 70's, which is when I started to play tennis. He was like Federer, Nadal and the Beatles rolled into one guy.

pretty certain he is the #1 reason I have always held tennis in such high esteem. Turned 13 in 1978 and he was the coolest dude. His matches with Connors were spellbinding. AND I saw him pictured with Cheryl Tiegs so obviously he was a role model.

He was an artist

Although he “officially“ retired at 26, he actually walked away mentally at 25. He fulfilled a couple of contractual obligations that following year only because he had to. It was a different time back then for sure but as super talented as he was he did not seem to have a love for the game and the competition that subsequent stars have had such as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. If he had, just think about the number of slams he would have won.

Great analysis.

11 grand slams by the time he was 26yrs old I think that puts him up there with anyone when you consider the top 3 although Roger has just retired are playing into their late 30’s

Simply the best!

He changed the game like so many of tennis luminaries and was certainly one of the greatest. His win/loss % should be seen thru the lens of leaving tennis at 26 yrs old though as he didn't compete in his 30's or even 40's (like Conners and Federer). I started playing tennis in 1984 so I missed the Borg era, but since my idol was McEnroe, I certainly have heard a great deal about him, his game and his rivalry with McEnroe. I only regret coming to tennis after their rivalry and also at the tail end of McEnroe's dominance (and Everett's as well). But the late 80's and 90's were also golden years for tennis, especially but not exclusively American tennis. The USA had the big 4 (Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang), but we tennis nuts also got to enjoy Becker, Edberg, Wilander, Lendl, Pioline, Forget, Tim Henman, Hewett, Cash and Rafter, etc.). The era of the BIG three (Federer, Nadal Djokovic) has been spectacular, but maybe the owner of the one statistic that always stuck in my head was Sampras (whose game I tried to emulate but wasn't my fav player). Sampras (and I believe now Nadal) won grand slam titles in his teens, 20's and 30's. Even Federer didn't do that.

Simply, there is a before and after a Bjorn Borg in tennis. He had a great impact on mi in life and tennis. Superb player and athlete!

I remember growing up it was always a big deal when Bjorn Borg was playing dad would always have the tv on.

I picked up a racket because of him and love tennis 40 years later

Nadal's uncle Toni said Borg was his favorite player growing up and he coached Nadal to do a lot of the same things Borg did. I consider Nadal to be a modern day version of Borg, if Borg had been born 30 years later and been left handed. Interesting that they have almost the exact same birthday, 30 years apart, and that Borg won 11 slams and Nadal 22, which is a double 11. I consider Borg the best player ever with the wood and Nadal the best ever with the modern equipment. But still give my respect to Laver, Djokovic, Federer, Lendl and McEnroe. All super great players and worthy of GOAT consideration. Novak especially.

All non-Swedish commentators miss a crucial aspect of the Björn Borg-mystery - the fact that he was from Södertälje, if you know that town you have the solution.

Reading through the comments here it is obvious that Borg was dearly loved by people everywhere, he was larger than the sport. Borg was such a stark contrast to the other top players he dethroned - prickly, combative, dudes like Nastase and Connors and then McEnroe - so cool, so unflappable, such an admirable on-court demeanor and the guy just looked amazing. He NEVER showed any emotion, and he NEVER got tired or disheartened in the least - he was all business like a machine but so elegant at the same time, he was like a king on the court, above it all but without and hint of hubris, and the way he floated over the court was beautiful to see, so effortlessly fast, nobody could hit past him. I was about 18 when he exploded onto the pro scene. I had heard about the Swedish golden boy and his army of groupies and the first time I watched him I was expecting to hate-watch this pretty boy but as soon as he walked onto the court my attitude changed 180 degrees - he had that kind of impact, just to see the guy walk out there and start hitting! and he instantly became my sport idol. I got serious about tennis (if you could find an open court in the mid-seventies. Tennis was THAT hot thanks to Borg and Connors.) and changed to the extreme western grip to get that high, topspin ball that gave you so much net clearance. This is routine today but not then - the "continental" grip and a flat ball was the norm. I would have gone to the two-handed backhand too but it was too late for me to change. I watched each one of his Wimbledon wins and thanks to his popularity, NBC (US TV) finally started showing Wimby live at 9 am on Sunday mornings (Breakfast at Wimbledon) and this was SO much fun. Getting up early on Sunday to watch Bjorn on center court was such a novel experience, magical. Live sports at its best. Seeing him finally get the upper hand over Connors and take the #1 ranking was so gratifying and that 5-set win in 1980 over McEnroe, with the famous tiebreaker 4th set, was EPIC. That was the talk of the sport's world - everybody was talking about it - tennis was HOT. And then . . .he lost to Mac at the next Wimby final, and again at the US open and just quit. Retired, at 26. 26! WTF? Talk about a let-down. I was so disappointed. It made no sense! He seemed like the last guy you would expect to burn out. And of all people to cede #1 to but effing Johnny Mac, the biggest a-hole to ever swing a racket. (he's cool now but THEN he was insufferably selfish and disagreeable. I would have paid good money to punch his face a few times). That was it. The dream was over. There was a brief glimmer of hope when he tried to make a comeback some years later, with his precious wood racket, LOL, but he could hardly win a set.

Borg, Connors and McEnroe. Must watch tennis.

Borg & Vilas invented heavy topspin. Borg did not have a western grip on his forehand. He had same grip as Federer. The role model for Nadals heavy extreme topspin was former No 6 Kent Carlsson. 😉🎾🎾🎾

I don't care about records or statistics. Borg and Federer will be my two GOATs forever.

Borg and McEnroe is the best rivalry of all time. Yes there have been a lot of rivalries over the decades but nothing topped these 2. They fought wars on the court.

It's a pity that Björn retired so young. He the hero of my early tennis-years and truly the godfather of moderern tennis. But his style was completly adepted on the then-material, wheras Mac and Jimbo managed the change to modern rackets he did not. When Björn tried a comeback in the 90ies, he still played his wooden racket and had no chance even against low-level players.

He was and remain a living legend!

Borg were amazing. But I dont think he ever played to the best of his abillities. He resigned at 27? I think he got tired of being a teenage star idol. I dont think the idolizing off him matched what he felt. He could probably have won a lot more Grand Slams. But he chose retirement. Respect

Fed also won W 2017 without dropping a set.

You mentioned SIX unique records yet the photographs only showed three readable ones… What are the remaining three? THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPERB ANALYSIS OF THE GREAT ICEBORG 😊

Really good video, but how did you forget Novak winning the channel slam last year?

There are factual errors. Author claims that Borg had two winning streaks of 46 and 48 matches. But this is not true, if you look at full official records. Probably author discounts some tournaments where Borg lost. Actual best winning streak of Bjorn is 41 match. He shares 5-6 place with Federer in Open Era. Vilas, Lendl, Djokovic and McEnroe had longer streaks. The longest is Vilas - 46 matches. Also IMO at least partially the reason for his retirement is a disrespect of the French Open officials, who claimed that he had to play qualification in 1982. Borg also suffered severely because US Open organizers knew about his less than ideal sight in the artificial light and exploited this with carefully planned scheduling - putting many of his decisive matches at night.

Player of the Century! No doubt!

One of the 3 men with insane tennis dominance feat (other two being Federer and Nadal) who in his prime won 5x wimbledon crowns in a row, legend.

I remember one journalist asking him after winning a five-setter: "Were you ever nervous?" Borg replied: "No, no-one can play that good for five sets". For me, this incarnates the beauty of tennis styles, where we have had shot-making geniuses like Federer, Sampras, McEnroe, Becker, Edberg, and Kyrgios who can win any point at any time. If they play at their best, they usually win. Nadal, after being bagled by Federer simply concluded "When he's like that, all you can do is hit a winning first serve". However, it is very hard to play at high level for an extended period of time. Enter the defensive, mentally tough grinders like Borg, Agassi, Nadal, Djokovic, Hewitt, Wilander, and Ruud. The rivalry against each other becomes the best entertainment tennis can offer. Combined with the elegant scoring system in tennis, eternal questions arise: "Can he play at that level in four sets?" "Can I grind, slow down the tempo, and get my opponent out of his rhythm before his lead is too large?" "How do I start making shots again? Where's my confidence so that I can start going for my shots again? Can I get going before his lead is too large?" Tennis is such a beautiful mental game.

Enjoyed the still from the movie 🎾

This post title is for those that didn’t witness the Borg era.

A the time he was quicker than the others, he had better ball control than the others, he was over all more fit than the others. And he looked better, I'm actually surprised that he never won the US and as far as I know, he never competed in the AO. Wilander made that tournament shine again.

Yes best of his era for sure 💯

If his agent had not encouraged him to play World Team Tennis in 1977, which negatively impacted his conditioning and resulted in a shoulder injury, he would have almost certainly won the US Open on clay.

And he didn’t even bother with the Australian Open.

He is a legend

simply the best ever, he is THE GOAT.

il restera toujours le plus grand joueur

Borg was underrated at the net.

Borg was the first tennisplayer to exersice hours after hours. Players before just played matches... like nastase.rod laver .stan Smith etc etc

J'ai aimé le tennis en regardant un match Borg contre Mc Enroe en 1982. Extraordinaire Borg.

He was the G.O.A.T. This is indisputable.

look at the size of the racquets during his era

The GOAT

McEnroe planted the seeds of doubt in his mind by beating him back to back at Wimbledon and US open in 1981. He felt he could never be #1 with him around. Similar to what Sampras did to Becker. Started beating him regularly and for some players it may be hard to swallow your pride and keep playing in the knowledge you’re no longer the best.

Borg's backhand is the best in the business.

Borg was amazing if he hadn’t retired he may have one two-four more French and another 2 or more Wimbledon…I wish players of that era Connors Mac etc played the French and Australian-more often their total majors would have been in double figures

He was a better athlete and had better stamina than 99% of his rivals. He made few mistakes and beat you down with his cardio..

What makes the best tennis player? Grand Slams? H2h? Years nr 1? Overall winning percentage?

मैंने अपने जीवनका पहला लॉन टेनिसका मॅच ' बियॉन बोर्ग और जॉन मॅकेन्रो ' के बीच खेला गया १९८१ का विमल्डनका स्पर्धाका अन्तिम लड़त ही था! एक समय ऐसा था जब लॉन टेनिस में अमेरिका और स्विडिश खिलाड़ियोंकी तू तू बोलती थी! ' बियॉन बोर्ग,म्याट्स विल्यांडर,स्टिफान एडबर्ग ' जैसे टेनिस खिलाड़ी विश्व टेनिसपर राज करते थे!पर पिछले पच्चीस वर्षौंमे कोयीभी विश्व स्तरीय लॉन टेनिसका खिलाड़ी स्विडनकी धरतीसे नही उभरा है!

he was the best. A shame he retired so young.

It's too bad he retired way early as Borg possibly could have won 15 majors instead of 11..

Borg in my opinion, was the best clay court player ever. He had to face true clay courters.

One of the Greatest players of all time..Bjorn Borg

The greatest

Borg mesmo no seu auge seria dizimado por qualquer dos campeões atuais! Seria penoso de ver!

HIs forehand came from ping pong. He won a tournament at ten years old in that sport.

No such thing as a GOAT, but he dominated his time.

He didn't invent the two handed Back hand. Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors were both using it in the pro ranks before him, and Cliff Drysdale and others used it before them.

Best era of tennis. Not the soulless uniform tennis of today.

Borg is without a question one of the greatest players to ever hit the tennis courts,i was a teenager when he dominated the game...what i wonder about is why he decided to retire so young ?...The great Roger Federer retired at 40 because of injuries,otherwise he would still be gracing tennis courts around the world,Nadal is still going strong,at least on clay,Djoković is still the best player around...so why did Borg leave the game so young ???