Bjorn Borg has had a remarkable tennis career, winning 11 Grand Slams between 1974 and 1981. By the end of his run, Borg had had enough. He was burned out and wanted to do anything other than tennis in his life. He finally returned to the sport, and since 2017, he has served as Team Europe’s Laver Cup captain.
This will be Borg and Team World’s coach, John McEnroe’s final year as leaders of their respective teams. Beginning in 2025, Andre Agassi will coach Team World, while Yannick Noah will coach Team Europe. Both Agassi and Noah were outstanding players, but they certainly have a different perspective on how to improve the sport than Borg.
Tennis was different in the 1970s, when Borg was at his peak. The manner rackets are constructed, as well as the materials used, have evolved. Fitness levels are more fundamentally solid and managed, and the teams that athletes surround themselves are far larger.
Bjorn Borg believes Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have one obligation to tennis.
Borg believes that current players have one obligation to the sport they play: to “promote” it. Tennis, unlike football, allows individual players to express themselves more freely because it is not a team sport, according to Borg. Fans who aren’t interested in the athletes are less likely to be interested in tennis.
As part of the 2024 Laver Cup marketing, Borg told The Athletic (subscription required) that players “hit the ball harder.” It’s far more difficult to play the way they do. There’s also the television side to it. They are huge stars. Tennis has grown to be one of the world’s most popular sports, and they now bear a great deal of responsibility. They need to motivate people and promote the sport. It is not the same as being a football star. You don’t need to market your sport.”
While Borg’s claim that tennis is one of the “biggest sports in the world” may appear exaggerated, a website called Best Diplomats confirms Borg’s statement. Tennis is the fourth most popular sport in the world, according to Best Diplomats. That means that budding talents like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner may have a bright future ahead of them.
However, they must effectively market the sport or risk harming themselves. So far, Alcaraz and Sinner appear to be doing so, but they will most certainly require a third challenger to emerge, just as Roger Federer had Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
