Swedish tennis legend Björn Borg is opening up about major life challenges, starting with a bout of "extremely aggressive" prostate cancer. The 11-time Grand Slam champion, who dominated the sport before retiring at just 25, reveals his diagnosis in the final chapter of his upcoming autobiography, Heartbeats, co-written with wife Patricia, per the BBC. Following a 2024 surgery, Borg is now in remission, but he says the experience has left a psychological mark. "Every six months I go and test myself," he says, describing the need to stay vigilant as a long-term reality. "It's a thing I have to live with."
Borg's memoir doesn't just chart his on-court triumphs. He details panic attacks, substance abuse, and several hospitalizations from overdoses in the years after his retirement. "I had no plan ... I was lost in the world," he writes, describing how he used drugs and alcohol to "escape myself from reality." Borg draws a parallel between the rush of cocaine and the thrill of high-level tennis, admitting drug use began in 1982, per the Guardian. He recounts one especially low point: waking up in a hospital bed to see his father after yet another overdose—a moment he calls "the worst shame of all."
Borg's decision to walk away from tennis at his peak followed back-to-back losses to John McEnroe in 1981. Reflecting on the moment, he writes, "All I could think was how miserable my life had become." Now, at 68, Borg is choosing to focus on the present, taking life "day by day, year by year," as he navigates both physical and emotional recovery. His story, set for release in the UK this week and the US next week, offers a candid look at the struggles behind the trophies. "I was close to dying many times," he writes. But "I fixed my life. I'm very happy with myself."
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