11-time Grand Slam champion Bjorn Borg opened up in a recent interview about the terrifying time he almost lost his life from taking drugs.
Borg is known as one of the coolest and calmest competitors ever seen on a tennis court. Despite playing at the top and in the high-pressure environment of Grand Slam finals, he always kept his composure and showed little emotion.
Therefore, some might assume he lived a quiet life off the court before and after retirement. Borg stunned fans worldwide by retiring from professional tennis in 1982, aged 26, although he unsuccessfully attempted a comeback from 1991 to 1993.
After retiring again, Borg mostly kept a low profile. Being Team Europe's Laver Cup captain from 2017 to 2024, with John McEnroe as Team World's captain, brought him back into the spotlight. Andre Agassi, who recently joked about Carlos Alcaraz, and Yannick Noah replaced them as captains.
It has now emerged that Borg's time after his first retirement from tennis was harder than fans realized. The Swede struggled to adapt after moving into a new social circle that was not as interested in sport and enjoyed using illegal substances.
In an interview with Sports News Television, Borg described how he nearly lost his life in 1989 after taking drugs while at a party in the Netherlands. He collapsed while walking to an exhibition match and woke up in a hospital.
"The closest call was when I was in Holland with my father for an exhibition. There was a dinner, a cocktail party. I saw some people that I had met the year before, I knew what they had. I took some drugs again, and then the next day I had to go and play the final."
"I told my father, 'I'm not going to make it (to the exhibition match), i feel too bad. He told me to take it easy, and I would make it. Immediately, when he said that, I fell to the ground. I woke up in the hospital, and I had no idea what had happened. The doctor said I nearly died, that I was very lucky to be alive."
Borg considers it his most embarrassing moment. The six-time French Open champion said that his father did not say a word when traveling back because he was so disappointed in him.
"My father was standing right in front of me, I was so embarrassed. When we went back to Stockholm, we didn't say a word. That was probably the most embarrassing thing in my life, to be with my father, who was my best friend, and be involved in this sort of thing, which really destroys you."
The tennis legend, who released his memoir, titled 'Heartbeats', a few days ago, recently revealed he is battling cancer. That moment might have influenced the decision to open up about his drug use and challenges from decades ago.
Although he has not done as much punditry or commentary work as his former on-court rival and close friend, McEnroe, fans enjoy hearing his insights when he speaks. Recently, he made some fascinating comments about Jannik Sinner's high-profile doping case.
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