Tennis icon Bjorn Borg, whose icy composure captivated millions, has finally unveiled the profound personal chaos that lay behind his legendary on-court success. In his revealing new autobiography, Heartbeats, the 69-year-old Swede details a life marked by three marriages, a severe drug addiction that nearly killed him, and the desperate pleas from his greatest rival, John McEnroe, not to abandon the sport.
A Life of Secrecy and Stubbornness
During his dominant career in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Borg secured 11 Grand Slam titles in just seven years, establishing himself as one of the sport's all-time greats. His shock retirement in 1983 at the age of 26 left the tennis world bewildered. Borg, who admits to being a "very secret" and "very stubborn person", kept his private life entirely hidden from public view until now. His memoir serves as a stark confession, chronicling his reasons for quitting, his battle with cancer, and the personal demons that followed his departure from the sport.
Three Marriages and a Descent into Chaos
Borg's first marriage was to Romanian tennis player Mariana Simionescu in 1980, at the peak of his fame. The couple divorced in 1984. His second marriage, to Italian singer Loredana Berte in 1989, marked a dark turning point. Borg describes this period as when "life turned into a chaotic mess." It was during this marriage that he suffered his first accidental drug overdose, an event from which Berte saved his life by calling an ambulance.
His third and current marriage to estate agent Patricia Ostfeld in 2002 has provided stability. It was Ostfeld who ultimately encouraged Borg to write his life story. He told The Guardian, "I would have taken my story to the grave" without her support, vowing to be completely open in the book.
Drug Addiction and Near-Fatal Overdoses
Borg was first introduced to cocaine in 1982, revealing the high was identical to the rush he felt from playing tennis. Following his retirement, a deep depression and lack of direction led him to increase his usage, mixing cocaine with other pills and alcohol. In 1989, he survived his first overdose.
A second, even more serious overdose occurred in 1993 while he was in Holland with his father. Borg collapsed in the street and woke up in a hospital. A doctor told him he had been "very close to dying." The tennis star recalls the profound shame and embarrassment he felt seeing his father's disappointed face, a memory that still haunts him.
The McEnroe Intervention
Borg's legendary rivalry with the fiery John McEnroe, tied at 7-7 in their head-to-head record, defined an era of tennis. After Borg's abrupt retirement, he cut ties with everyone from his tennis life, a decision he calls a "huge mistake." The one person who persistently tried to change his mind was his greatest on-court adversary.
"The one guy who called me all the time and said, 'You cannot quit, you cannot retire from tennis,' was John McEnroe," Borg revealed. McEnroe repeatedly told the Swede, who was not yet 26, that he was making a terrible error. Borg acknowledges that McEnroe was left "very disappointed" and "very sad" by his final decision.
