Why did Bjorn Borg quit so young?

Da Shins Kelly

Just leading on from the thread about the greatest players ever, and someone mentioned how if Bjorn Borg hadn't retired, there might have been no discussion about the greatest of all time.

Just wondering was there ever any explanation for him leaving the game so early? 26 seems so young to just call it quits. I read somewhere that he was devastated by his loss to John McEnroe at Wimbledon in 1981 and didn't recover from it, but I can't imagine something like that driving someone out of the sport altogether. Was he just not excited by the game anymore? Were there personal problems? Seems a real shame for a talent like that to just throw the towel in.

biko

I think I heard he said he wanted to get out while on top instead of keep at it and get beaten more and more until he left.
Check youtube for docs, should be in there.

Panrich

I remember him well and I think he had gone from an early career where he was imperious at Wimbledon to struggling against an equally precocious talent who was younger and had improved past him by 1981.
At that stage McEnroe had his measure and I think Borg felt that he would no longer be able to compete with a player just coming into his prime. The irony was that this decision also affected McEnroe who never reached the heights that his early duels with Borg showed him capable of. He needed an adversary like Borg to push him to his limits and his game suffered as a result.

Da Shins Kelly

I have read bits and pieces about Bjorg, but there seems to be an awful lot of conflicting opinions on why he left the sport. Some saying it was because of McEnroe's ascension, some saying the well had simply run dry and he was burnt out from such early success, some say he partied too hard and that eventually began to interest him more than tennis.

Interesting how it affected McEnroe too. I always just thought that McEnroe was just a bit of a self-destructive individual who had loads of talent but his temperament just got the better of him. I never thought that the absence of a real rival maybe just stopped him from pushing himself.

walshb

McEnroe was at his peak in '83 and '84. Borg was gone by then. From '85 onwards new power hitters emerged and Mac began to struggle. Different eras and technology, as well as some quality players like Lendl and Edberg and Wilander started to come to their peak.

Panrich

walshb wrote: »

McEnroe was at his peak in '83 and '84. Borg was gone by then. From '85 onwards new power hitters emerged and Mac began to struggle. Different eras and technology, as well as some quality players like Lendl and Edberg and Wilander started to come to their peak.

I agree that both Borg and McEnroe were tennis players that spanned eras. If you look at pictures of Borg with his traditional racquet, it looks strange to modern eyes. Borg was not a serve and volleyer despite his record at Wimbledon. In fact he was a baseline player. He relied on his speed around the court and his sublime timing to win his points. His game was based on pure skill with his topspin forehand a joy to behold. McEnroe was better able to mix with the 'power hitters' as he had a decent serve and volley game. Players like Connors with his 'jumbo' racquet actually embraced the changes better than either though even though he too played from the baseline. Like Agassi later, he returned power shots with interest.

walshb

Mac's main problem was that his baseline play and ground strokes were pretty ordinary. He relied too much on serve and volley, and when the power hitters came through he was bound to suffer. I remember Agassi's demolition job at Wimledon in '92. I mentioned it before, but I do believe that even though '84 was Mac's peak as regards success, he was a stronger and more versatile player in the late '80s. The problem was that there were better players in the late '80s and early '90s.

Henry9

He was burnt out and he asked the federation for 6 months out of the game. They refused so he quit altogether.
McEnroe has told the story many times, particularly how he had asked for Borg to get the time off.
He also says how disappointed he was about it and how the fans and the players themselves missed out.

In 1985 some of the draw were still playing with wooden rackets, Curren included I think. When Borg did make a comeback, he tried to do it with wood, he had no chance.
I think he may have played in Monte Carlo with a graphite racket, but he was a dinosaur by then. There was a quantum leap when everyone moved to graphite and even at his peak his game wouldn't have worked anymore.

It's a shame he didn't stay around, he possibly could have adapted along with the others.
The poor guy was fcuked in the head, tried to commit suicide a couple of times.
He didn't even come back to Wimbledon for 20 years, when he came out at the Parade of Champions, the place went mad.

walshb

Henry9 wrote: »

He was burnt out and he asked the federation for 6 months out of the game. They refused so he quit altogether.
McEnroe has told the story many times, particularly how he had asked for Borg to get the time off.
He also says how disappointed he was about it and how the fans and the players themselves missed out.

In 1985 some of the draw were still playing with wooden rackets, Curren included I think. When Borg did make a comeback, he tried to do it with wood, he had no chance.
I think he may have played in Monte Carlo with a graphite racket, but he was a dinosaur by then. There was a quantum leap when everyone moved to graphite and even at his peak his game wouldn't have worked anymore.

It's a shame he didn't stay around, he possibly could have adapted along with the others.
The poor guy was fcuked in the head, tried to commit suicide a couple of times.
He didn't even come back to Wimbledon for 20 years, when he came out at the Parade of Champions, the place went mad.

I was almost sure that Curren was using a metal/graphite racket in the '85 Wimbledon final.

Borg really was a celebrity global tennis star. The first, and last!

Henry9

Google tells me in 85 he had a composite, but the 83 semi was the last time anyone reached that stage with a wooden racket.
Also 1987 was the last time anyone played Wimbledon with wood.

They wouldn't have been the over size rackets though.
I'm guessing Connors in 83 used his steel Wilson, even so it means there was a quantum leap over 2-3 years after Borg retired.
It's hard to think of a similar change in technology in an individual sport in such a short period of time.
It would have been very hard to be out of the game for that time and come back.