Björn Borg
Björn Borg, former tennis star, has shared for the first time the full extent of serious struggles he faced after stepping away from professional sport. In his new memoir Heartbeats, he says that, following his retirement at age 25, he used drugs, pills, and alcohol to escape from reality.
Borg says that after leaving tennis, he felt lost. He did not know what to do, and the satisfaction he got from winning and competition disappeared. He describes starting with alcohol and later trying drugs and sleeping pills. In time, these substances became a way to avoid facing his own thoughts and feelings. He admits he was not proud of it, but says those were dark years that followed his early fame.
He has said there were multiple moments when things went very wrong. One night in Milan in 1989, he collapsed and was rushed to hospital after taking a dangerous mix of substances. On another occasion in the Netherlands, he suffered a severe health scare during an overdose and was hospitalized. These events, he says, brought him shame but also forced him to confront what he was doing.
Borg writes about the emotional pain that lay beneath his use of substances. He carried regret over some of the choices he made, and he felt the weight of not having a plan for life after tennis. He also struggled with panic attacks, disappointment, and a sense that his identity was tied too closely to the sport.
Over time, Borg says he decided he did not want to keep going in that direction. He sought help, changed his habits, and worked to rebuild parts of his life. He says now, after many years of being sober from drugs and alcohol, he looks back with relief that he survived, and with hope for the future.
He has also revealed a recent diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer. He underwent surgery and is now in remission. He checks regularly with doctors to monitor his health. Despite that, the recovery from both illness and the struggles of his past remain very much a part of his journey.
