Bjorn Borg: I’ve always been a private person

Bjorn Borg: I’ve always been a private person

Born in 1956 in the Swedish capital, Borg’s lifelong association with tennis began when his father won a full-size racket at a local table tennis tournament, which he gave to the young Borg.

By the age of 14, he had joined the professional tennis circuit, and just a few years later, had won the Italian Open at 17 and the French Open at just 18. Having risen to international prominence in 1975 when he helped Sweden win its first David Cup, Borg became a household name in the years that followed for his distinctive playing style that helped him win Wimbledon five times in a row.

At the peak of his playing career, his on-court rivalry with the American John McEnroe became the stuff of legend, with the pair’s 1980 Wimbledon final considered by many to be one of the greatest matches ever played. This was later immortalised in a 2017 movie.

After unexpectedly retiring in 1983, Borg struggled with life after tennis, battling alcohol and drug abuse. He subsequently returned to the sport in the early 1990s for a couple of years before hanging up his professional tennis racket for good.

He tells Tim Muffett about his journey to the very top of the sport, the challenges of stepping away, and his recent battle with prostate cancer.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Tim Muffett Producers: Ben Cooper, Nadia Dahabiyeh and Nick Smith Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Björn Borg of Sweden prepares to present the trophies on Court Philippe-Chatrie, Credit: Tim Clayton/Getty Images)

Jaksot(1846)

Aida Touma-Sliman: What does war mean for Israel's Arab population?

Aida Touma-Sliman: What does war mean for Israel's Arab population?

What does the Gaza war mean for Israel’s Arab population? Stephen Sackur speaks to Israeli politician Aida Touma-Sliman, a Palestinian Arab member of Israel's parliament.

5 Tammi 202423min

Past notes

Past notes

A special programme remembering past HARDtalk guests who died in 2023. All of them left an indelible mark on public life and all, in their different ways, relished the opportunity we gave them to discuss their decision-making and motivation.

29 Joulu 202323min

2023 in review

2023 in review

Stephen Sackur looks back at some of HARDtalk’s most impactful and thought-provoking interviews of 2023.

27 Joulu 202323min

Naftali Bennett: Has Israel responded unwisely?

Naftali Bennett: Has Israel responded unwisely?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Israel’s former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. He is a staunch supporter of Israel’s military assault in Gaza. But in responding to Hamas’s murderous October 7th attack, has Israel deployed wisdom as well as military might?

20 Joulu 202322min

Izzeldin Abuelaish: Can Palestinians still believe in forgiveness and peace?

Izzeldin Abuelaish: Can Palestinians still believe in forgiveness and peace?

Zeinab Badawi speaks to the Palestinian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish, whose three daughters and niece were killed in an Israeli tank strike on his home in the Gaza Strip in 2009. At the time, he said he felt no bitterness, and soon after he published his award-winning autobiography, I Shall not Hate. Now he has lost 22 more family members in the current bombardment. Is he still preaching his message of forgiveness and peace?

15 Joulu 202323min

Sandra Day O'Connor: The first female US Supreme Court judge

Sandra Day O'Connor: The first female US Supreme Court judge

The framers of the American Constitution harboured few illusions about human nature, and that’s why they invested so much significance in the US Supreme Court, the ultimate check on executive and legislative power. Sandra Day O’Connor, who died days ago at the age of 93, was the first woman to be appointed as a justice in this court. For 25 years, she was one of its most influential voices. HARDtalk travelled to Washington DC in 2006 to speak to her.Image: Sandra Day O'Connor, pictured in 2003 (Credit: Tom Mihalek/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

11 Joulu 202323min

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza: What Rwandans think of the UK migrant transfer deal

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza: What Rwandans think of the UK migrant transfer deal

Stephen Sackur speaks to Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. The UK government, which has signed a controversial migrant transfer deal with Rwanda, paints President Paul Kagame in positive colours. How does that sit with his opponents?(Photo: Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza appears via videolink on BBC Hardtalk)

8 Joulu 202323min

Fatih Birol: Is the global energy transition veering off course?

Fatih Birol: Is the global energy transition veering off course?

Stephen Sackur speaks to the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol. As oil and gas-rich UAE hosts the latest climate change summit, is it time to admit the much-vaunted global energy transition is veering off course?

4 Joulu 202323min

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