Bjorn Borg’s secret of mental toughness
The former top ranked professional tennis player from Sweden, Bjorn Rune Borg was born on 6 June 1956 in the city of Sodertalje. The right handed tennis ace captured a total of five grass court Grand Slam trophies in a row as well as four French Open titles on consecutive basis. Bjorn is often regarded as one of the greatest all time players in the game of tennis.
The Swede, in one of his interviews, shared the secret of his mental strength and power that has helped him throughout his professional life in winning more and more titles. While commenting on his childhood behaviour, Bjorn said that, “I used to be one of the worst mannered kids on the courts of tennis”.
Bjorn, at the age of twelve, used to contest for his hometown club. All the other players as well as the management of the club had problems with Bjorn’s behaviour. As a result they called his parents for a meeting in order to discuss his behaviour.
“I used to throw my tennis racket on the court after the practice session and it was really embarrassing for my parents when the club’s management called them for a meeting”, Bjorn said.
After a detailed discussion, it was decided to suspend the Swede for a period of six months which was really sad news for Bjorn as he was fond of the game of tennis since his childhood.
Bjorn while commenting on his six months suspension said that, “it was an excellent lesson for me as when I returned, I did not even open my mouth on a single occasion and that is perhaps where I got my character from”, he added.
“No doubt, I felt extremely disappointed after the decision however; it served as a good lesson for me on how to control my temper in future. I got to know that for a player it is very important to remain composed and mentally strong in tough conditions and so I never misbehaved again as I was fearful that I will be suspended again’, Bjorn added.
Bjorn as a child always imagined of playing the final of the grass court Grand slam tournament. However, he never thought at that time that his dream would become a reality one day. The Swede all through his career has won on five occasions in a row at Wimbledon and he always keeps on mentioning in his interviews about his match versus John McEnroe back in 1980 which is very close to his heart.
Bjorn said, “It was the best thing happened to me as to grab that last point in the final of the grass court Grand Slam tournament is an extremely wonderful feeling being a tennis professional. I feel that I performed really well in that match. I controlled my nerves and emotions and kept on focusing hard on the game. It was part of my learning while being a junior player in my home town club”, he added.
“There were times when I lost my courage particularly when I was knocked down by John McEnroe in the final battle of the grass court Grand Slam tournament back in 1981 however I didn’t give up and my mental strength that I learned in my early childhood days helped me a lot during that period in controlling my nerves”, the right handed professional tennis player Bjorn Borg commented.
As a child Bjorn learned how to remain focused and tackle pressure situations without faltering and that helped him a lot in winning significant points in the match. In his view, that was perhaps one of his strongest qualities.
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