Swedish Tennis Legend Bjorn Borg Opens Up About Near-Fatal Drug Overdoses Across Milan and the Netherlands

Bjorn Borg, the Swedish tennis icon, has opened up about the dark side of his early retirement, including his first experiences with cocaine and the way drugs temporarily replaced the structure and excitement of tennis in his life.

After bursting onto the professional scene in the 1970s, Borg quickly became a household name. He won his first Grand Slam at the 1974 French Open when he was just 18, setting the stage for a career that would eventually include 11 major titles and 66 singles victories.

Yet, despite this meteoric rise, he stunned the tennis world by stepping away from the sport after only a decade.

A Hedonistic Chapter in New York

In his memoir Heartbeats, Borg recounts a turbulent period in the late 1980s and 1990s when drugs played a prominent role in his life.

During an interview with the Times, he spoke candidly about being offered cocaine at a party in Manhattan while in the U.S. to sell his Long Island home in the summer of 1982.

“They always had parties in Manhattan,” he said, recalling that first encounter. “I thought, ‘I’m not playing tennis any more, so I can try it.’ It would have been better not to. But eventually, I took more drugs and pills, all in search of happiness. Where is happiness?”

Borg even compared the rush from cocaine to the exhilaration he felt while competing at the top of the tennis world — a thrill he had been chasing since his teens.

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Dangerous Consequences

But the highs came at a cost. Borg details in his memoir several frightening incidents, including two near-fatal overdoses.

The first occurred in Milan, seven years after his first brush with cocaine. His then-wife, Loredana, found him and rushed him to the hospital, where he had his stomach pumped.

The media speculated about a suicide attempt, though Borg explained that the episode stemmed from “a dangerous mix of drugs, pills, and alcohol” rather than intentional self-harm.

A second terrifying moment happened in the Netherlands, when Borg collapsed on a bridge and went into cardiac arrest. He recalls the surreal sensation of losing control:

“I feel the ground beneath my feet heaving. It’s like I’m moving in the air; I can’t move forward… everything goes black. I’m dying. I see no bright light or a film of my life; everything is simply gone.”

The night had started innocuously with a quiet dinner but spiraled into a perilous mix of substances.

Borg remembers walking with his father afterward, feeling utterly unwell, only to collapse moments later. Waking up in a hospital bed with his father beside him became, in his words, the “worst shame of it all.”

Finding Stability

Recovery was gradual but ultimately successful. Borg credits his third wife, Patricia Östfeld, who co-wrote his memoir and has been his partner for 25 years, with helping him stop drinking and using drugs.

Despite these struggles, Borg’s story is also a testament to resilience — a reminder that even the most decorated athletes can face intense personal battles away from the spotlight.