How Bjorn Borg stormed Wimbledon 50 years ago in tennis’s Beatles moment

The long blonde hair. The headband. That backhand with two hands. The hordes of screaming teenage girls clamoring to break through the police escorts to lay a finger on handsome 17-year-old Ice Man from Sweden.

Fifty years ago this summer, Borgmania arrived at Wimbledon and tennis changed forever.

Bjorn Borg made his Wimbledon debut in 1973, his first year on the professional tour. As Martina Navratilova put it in the BBC documentary Gods of Tennis: ‘He was a star before he ever won a match.’

Center Court had never seen anything like it. Crowds of teenagers ambushed him at every turn, and Borg was only able to get from the locker room to the courts with a circle of police officers fighting their way through the crowd.

“It was our version of The Beatles,” former British No. 1 John Lloyd, a professional at the time, tells Mail Sport. “One moment he was playing, the next moment he was escorted off the field by the police. The girls went all out.

Borg’s matches that year became the hottest ticket in town, as adoring fans watched

Bjorn Borg (left to right): Deborah Iggo, Tracy Mirsin, Bridget Ward and Diane Parker at Wimbledon to face the Swede in 1973

Borg would win five consecutive Wimbledon titles between 1976 and 1980 and 11 total Slams

“This was an era before the internet, before social media where anyone can tweet, ‘You have to come see this guy, he’s incredible.’ Tennis wasn’t as big as it was after Borg.’

For all the admiration of the screaming crowd, Borg—outwardly at least—remained unperturbed. The only child of parents who owned a grocery store in Stockholm, he was soon christened the Ice Man.

“Being Swedish, we’re closed and shy people,” Borg said. “I didn’t want to show my emotions.

“I gave 100 percent for tennis. Practice, sleep, eat, play games. That’s what I’ve been doing for so many years. Nothing else.’

His dedication paid off. Borg won five consecutive Wimbledon titles from 1976 to 1980 as part of 11 career Grand Slams.

“He could have been a real playboy and he didn’t,” adds Lloyd. “He took it upon himself and focused on his game.

All the fuss around him, it never changed him. He was never one to talk about himself. He hated talking about himself.’

Borg pictured in action at Wimbledon in 1980, with his popularity sealed by then

Britain’s Roger Taylor defeated Borg in the quarterfinals of Sweden’s first Wimbledon in ’73

Borg’s instant superstardom was perhaps aided by the absence that year of Wimbledon’s usual superstars.

Eighty-one of the top professionals, including defending champion Stan Smith, boycotted the tournament in protest of the Yugoslav Tennis Federation’s suspension of No. 1 Nikola Pilic, who claimed he had refused to play in the Davis Cup.

Borg reached the quarterfinals, but lost to British star Roger Taylor in a five-set thriller.

The Swedish star celebrates after beating John McEnroe and winning Wimbledon in 1980

Even after his defeat, while Borg sat in his seat, teenage girls would rush to Center Court to catch a glimpse of him.

“Borg was something else,” Taylor tells Mail Sport. “He had quite a female following. It was almost like he was a pop star.

“We had never seen a double-handed backhand before and he was a great athlete at a young age. When I played him at Wimbledon, I went two sets to one and that’s when the competitive instinct kicked in.”

Borg became one of the highest paid athletes in the world.

Lloyd reached the third round that year. Not only would he become the UK No. 1, but also a poster boy as part of a tennis power couple with his marriage to American superstar Chris Evert.

“Tennis became the hip sport to play,” says Lloyd. ‘Everyone wanted to see and play it: film and television stars, politicians.

“Suddenly you were part of a sport that was glamorous. Doors opened for you. People took your picture at airports.

“I flew the Concorde. I played tennis with Johnny Carson, met Muhammad Ali, played with Sugar Ray Leonard, played against Ted Kennedy.

‘I was just a lad from Southend-on-Sea. I didn’t get the balance quite right. It never affected Bjorn.’

It eventually did. Borg retired in 1983 at the age of 26. All those years of cameramen and screaming crowds had finally taken their toll.

As much as it exhausted him, Borgmania catapulted him and his sport to superstardom.