Bjorn Borg just shared some pretty shocking details about his drug problems after he quit tennis. And honestly, it’s way more serious than anyone imagined.
The Swedish legend walked away from tennis in 1983 when he was just 26. That’s crazy when you think about it – he’d already won 11 Grand Slam titles and was still playing at an incredible level.
He could’ve easily won more majors if he’d kept going.
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Borg tried to make a comeback from 1991 to 1993, but it didn’t work out. He never got close to his old form and eventually gave up for good without winning anything significant.
For decades, nobody really knew what happened during those years after his first retirement.
That all changed a few months ago when Borg opened up in a new book. He revealed something that stunned the tennis world – he’d struggled with serious drug addiction.
The details he shared were heartbreaking. He talked about ending up in the hospital after taking cocaine and how his father, who was with him, couldn’t even look at him on the ride home.
Searching for happiness in all the wrong places
In a recent interview with The Times, Borg got even more honest about what was really going on back then.
He admitted he was doing cocaine at parties in Manhattan, desperately trying to find some kind of happiness during a really dark period.
"They always had parties in Manhattan. I thought, ‘I’m not playing tennis anymore, so I can try (cocaine). It would be better not to try it. Going into drugs or pills or alcohol – it’s terrible. But then in the end, I took more drugs and pills, and it’s just to find happiness. Where is happiness?"
The six-time French Open winner then shared something even more terrifying. He actually went into cardiac arrest after collapsing on a bridge in the Netherlands.
It was caused by a deadly combination of drugs, alcohol, and pills.
"I feel the ground beneath my feet heaving. It’s like I’m moving in the air; I can’t move forward. We have to cross a bridge, a typical Dutch bridge over a canal where houseboats are swaying."
"At that moment, I sink to the ground. Everything goes black, and the unimaginable happens. I’m dying. I see no bright light or a film of my life passing by; everything is simply gone. My heart no longer goes boom boom boom, because now it’s standing still. Yet, just before everything goes black, I think: how could it have come to this?"
That’s absolutely terrifying. The fact that he’s alive to tell this story is pretty remarkable.
End of an era at the Laver Cup
Speaking of Borg, he’s no longer captaining Team Europe at the Laver Cup. From 2017 to 2024, he and John McEnroe led their respective teams in what became one of tennis’s coolest events.
Their old rivalry from the playing days made them perfect for the job. Plus, they’re actually good friends now, which made the whole thing even more entertaining.
Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi took over as captains for last year’s tournament. Despite Noah’s experience winning the Davis Cup with France, Agassi’s Team World actually came out on top after three days of pretty incredible tennis.
One of the key moments? Carlos Alcaraz’s shocking loss to Taylor Fritz.
The Spanish star played way below his usual level, and Fritz didn’t waste the opportunity. It was a huge win that helped Team World pull off their first victory in years.
It’s interesting how tennis keeps evolving, even in these exhibition formats. But nothing’s quite as compelling as hearing legends like Borg finally open up about their darkest moments.
