Björn Borg: “I’ll fight every day like it’s a Wimbledon final” after prostate cancer diagnosis

Tennis great Björn Borg says he is taking life “day by day, year by year” after revealing he has been diagnosed with an “extremely aggressive” form of prostate cancer.

The 69-year-old — who announced the news in the final chapter of his autobiography, Heartbeats: A Memoir, co-written with his wife Patricia — said doctors told him the disease was “at its most advanced stage” but that he intends to keep fighting. “I’ll fight every day like it’s a Wimbledon final,” he told BBC Breakfast.

Borg, who underwent an operation in 2024 and is currently in remission, described the diagnosis as “difficult psychologically.” He said doctors warned that dormant cancer cells remain and that ongoing monitoring will be necessary. “Every six months I go and test myself. I did my last test two weeks ago. It’s a thing I have to live with,” he said.

He first noticed a problem after years of routine checks; doctors raised concerns in 2023 but follow-up tests were postponed when Borg travelled to Vancouver to captain the Laver Cup. “The thing is that you don’t feel anything — you feel good, and then it’s just happened,” he said. “I hope that I’m going to be OK. I take it day by day, year by year, hopefully.”

Borg’s playing record remains remarkable: five consecutive Wimbledon titles (1976–1980), six French Open crowns (1974–1981) and 11 Grand Slam singles titles overall. His 1980 Wimbledon final against John McEnroe — a near four-hour classic in which McEnroe saved seven championship points — is widely regarded as one of the sport’s greatest matches.

Nicknamed “Ice” for his cool demeanour on court, Borg dominated tennis in the late 1970s and early 1980s, winning 66 singles titles and spending 109 weeks as world number one. He stunned the tennis world by retiring at 25 after losing the 1981 Wimbledon final and the 1981 US Open.

In Heartbeats he opens up about the struggles that followed retirement — loss of direction, substance use and a near-fatal overdose in Milan in 1989 — and how those experiences ultimately led him to rebuild his life. “I fixed my life. I’m very happy with myself,” he said.

Borg also reflected on old rivalries turned friendships: “We were fighting to be the best in the world. To do that, you cannot be best friends.” He added that today he and John McEnroe are “very good friends” who meet and talk about the state of the game, not the old matches.