Sports
A rare Bjorn Borg interview: Saying goodbye to Laver Cup, retiring at 26 and watching his son Leo
All these years later, Bjorn Borg is getting another chance to make a proper exit.
It didn’t go great the last time around. For those not familiar with one of the more notorious tennis walk-offs, after Borg lost in the U.S. Open final against John McEnroe in 1981 – his third consecutive loss to McEnroe in a Slam final – he grabbed his bag, headed for the tunnel, barely stopped in the locker room as he grabbed his car keys, then headed to the parking lot and drove off, leaving everyone a bit baffled during the trophy ceremony as to why the finalist was not there.
And that was basically it, other than two very abbreviated comeback attempts. The 11-time Grand Slam winner never played another Grand Slam match. He was essentially done. In January 1983, at the age of 26, he retired from tennis.
Borg after losing the 1981 U.S. Open final to McEnroe (Getty Images)
He made brief (and unsuccessful) attempts at comebacks in the early 1990s, but for decades Borg was pretty much off the tennis grid. And then, finally, there he was on the sidelines once again seven years ago, coaching Team Europe in the Laver Cup, Roger Federer’s attempt to create a tennis version of the Ryder Cup. McEnroe coached Team World, which was kind of perfect.
Borg and McEnroe are stepping away from their Laver Cup roles after this year. Andre Agassi and Yannick Noah will replace them. With his final Laver Cup gig approaching this weekend in Berlin (September 20-22), Borg was motivated to grant a rare interview about his post-tennis life, the development of his son, Leo, into a pro, and what the hobnobbing with the best players of this era has meant to him.
“So beautiful,” he said during a phone interview last month while he was on vacation in Ibiza, which is about as Borg as it gets, right?
This interview has been edited for length and quality.
The Athletic: So many great players from your era became coaches, but you never really did, except for the Laver Cup. Why?
Borg: I never had an interest. All the travel. Sweden even asked me to be the Davis Cup captain. I said no. That was not my thing either. To be the coach of Team Europe though, I thought that was a big responsibility. And my friend Roger Federer asked me. It’s a special event in any year.
Borg and Federer in the Team Europe dressing room at the 2022 Laver Cup (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup)
The Athletic: Why did you quit playing so young? Were you unhappy? I ask because nowadays there are a lot of unhappy players who stop at a young age and in retrospect, you sort of seem like maybe you were the canary in the coal mine.
Borg: I was very happy as a player, but the motivation was not there. If you don’t have the motivation to practice and compete every day, you can’t focus on what you do and what you need to do. I was happy, but I had no motivation and no focus. When I came back briefly, that was a different story.
I’m writing a book. I’m going to tell everyone all about it next year.
The Athletic: What have you learned about how tennis has changed from being around the players during the Laver Cup?
Borg: We have two dinners during the week and it is the most special time. We do it to get the team bonded. They ask me about what the tour was like when I was playing and how I went about my life and we tell each other the stories of our lives. And I listen to what they tell me and really what I learn is they are not too different from me. They are tennis players. What we did is kind of the same thing as what they do.
The Athletic: But the world has changed, hasn’t it?
Borg: They hit the ball harder. It’s much more grueling to play the way they do. There is also the TV aspect to it. They are big stars. Tennis has become one of the biggest sports in the world and they have a big responsibility. They have to inspire people and promote the sport. It’s different than if you are a star in football. You don’t have to promote your sport. But if we talk about their fame, then they must be doing a great job. They all understand that no one player is bigger than the sport itself.
(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup)
The Athletic: From what they tell you during those Laver Cup dinners, what do you think is the biggest difference between their lives and yours?
Borg: They have the big teams around them and these people are doing an incredible job. I did OK, even if I stopped too early, but I never had that big team of people to go around the world with that makes you feel so supported.
I was the first one who really traveled with a coach. Today everyone has a coach and a physio and all these other people. Tennis, it’s such a demanding sport. It’s really tough because you are basically out there by yourself. So you really need that.
The Athletic: Is that what you look forward to with being the coach of Team Europe, to help provide that support?
Borg: I’m going to have great players in Berlin. I want to win. It’s my last year. I lost the last two years. I want to win again, but I don’t know, Team World is very good. John McEnroe and I are good friends, but he wants to win, too. We have always enjoyed being competitive. We were such big rivals and when he is coaching we are still very competitive. To see him now is so special. We keep in contact, but to see him is something else.
The Athletic: Did it bother you the way he behaved on the court?
Borg: When we played, he was always OK. Looking back, he never did much with me. We respected each other too much, I think, both on and off the court.
Borg after beating McEnroe in five sets in the 1980 Wimbledon final (Steve Powell/Allsport/Getty Images)
The Athletic: What modern player reminds you of you?
Borg: I grew up on clay. Nadal grew up on clay. He’s the one. To see him play on clay courts, it’s so fantastic. He’s unbelievable. I can relate to how he knows how to move players around the court.
The Athletic: Chris Evert says she was scared to talk to you when you were a player because you were this silent star, but now when she sees you, you are very chatty. Have you changed?
Borg: Chris is a very good friend. We started something together. We were two big stars. We lifted tennis to a different level. I’m very happy and proud to have done that. Then the ones that came after us lifted it more. Federer, Nadal, Novak, the Williams sisters. But we were there at the beginning.
The Athletic: Your son Leo is trying to break through on the pro tour. Do you coach him?
Borg: I support him, but I do not coach him. He knows he can come to me whenever he wants. He has a whole team around him. He lives in Stockholm. I live in Stockholm. He comes by. We talk.
(Adam Ihse/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
The Athletic: Is it harder to play a match or watch him play?
Borg: Ask any parent. You get more nervous watching your child play. I follow his matches. He feels a lot of pressure. He is my son. He is starting to perform much better, I think. I do love to watch him, though. It’s just hard because, as a parent, you have no control. When you are on the court, you have some control. In some ways, it’s easier to be on the couch watching on television. It’s much worse watching in person.
The Athletic: It seems like Christian and Casper Ruud have a good coach-player thing going and he doesn’t look very nervous. Are you sure you don’t want to give it a shot?
Borg: The Ruuds are my good friends. Trust me, Christian gets nervous, too.
(Top photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup)
Sports
Austin Reaves nearing return for Lakers as Luka Doncic remains out indefinitely with hamstring strain: report
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In early April, with just five games remaining in the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that star guard Luka Doncic would be sidelined at least until the NBA playoffs.
Doncic’s setback was a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, an MRI confirmed. The reigning NBA scoring champion sustained the injury during an April 2 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers also entered the playoffs without another key member of their backcourt, Austin Reaves.
The shorthanded Lakers upset the Houston Rockets in the opening game of their first-round Western Conference series Saturday. Ahead of Game 2 on Tuesday, the Lakers reportedly received a clearer update on the health of at least one of their injured stars.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves brings the ball up court against the Washington Wizards in Los Angeles on March 30, 2026. (Ryan Sun/AP)
Reaves, who was diagnosed with an oblique strain, appears to be progressing toward a return later in the first-round series if it extends to six or seven games. If the Lakers advance sooner, he could be on track to return for the Western Conference semifinals.
According to ESPN, Reaves recently returned to the practice court for 1-on-1 drills. The 27-year-old will still need to progress to 2-on-3 and then 5-on-5 work before he can be cleared for playoff action, but he appears significantly further along than Doncic, who remains out indefinitely.
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball against the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center on March 21, 2026. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
Doncic is unlikely to play in the first round, regardless of the series length. ESPN footage showed him on the practice court on Tuesday, though the six-time All-Star was not doing high-intensity work.
2025-26 NBA PLAYOFF ODDS: SPREADS, LINES FOR FIRST-ROUND SERIES
The Rockets, despite being widely favored in the opening round playoffs series, also contended with key injuries. Kevin Durant missed Game 1 with a knee contusion. He was cleared to play in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. shoots the ball against the Lakers during Game 1 in the NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on April 18, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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LeBron James scored 19 points, while Luke Kennard led Los Angeles with 27 in Saturday’s win.
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Watching junior right-hander Fabian Bravo of Sun Valley Poly High pitch for the first time, there was something strangely familiar about his windup.
When he turned his back to reveal he was wearing No. 32, everything made sense.
He had to be a fan of Sandy Koufax, the 1960s Hall of Fame left-hander for the Dodgers.
Two friends sitting next to me refused to believe it.
“No way,” one said.
“Kids today have never heard of Sandy Koufax,” another piped in.
Only after Bravo threw a three-hit shutout to beat North Hollywood 3-0 was my belief vindicated.
“I come into the back with my arms and it’s a little bit like a Sandy Koufax kind of thing,” he said. “I wear 32 too. He was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers and was good in the World Series.”
Koufax was perfect-game good on Sept. 9, 1965, against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, striking out 14.
Bravo started learning about No. 32 when his parents would bring him to Dodger Stadium as a young boy.
“I always saw No. 32 retired on the wall,” he said. “Once I got to know him, I was able to see who he really was. I felt I could really copy him and get myself deeper into history.”
Bravo is no Koufax in terms of being a power pitcher. He’s 5 feet 10 and 140 pounds. Since last season, when he changed his windup to briefly emulate Koufax’s arms going above his head, he has a 12-3 record. This season he’s 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA.
“I saw his windup and he looked like he was calm and composed and I tried it. I felt more of a rhythm. I was able to calm down and pitch better,” he said.
After Bravo’s arms go up over his head in his windup, he also does a brief hesitation breathing in and out before throwing the ball toward home plate.
“My dad always taught me to breathe in, breathe out before I do anything,” he said.
Nowadays, teenagers seemingly don’t pay much attention to greats of the past, from old ballplayers to Hall of Fame coaches. Ask someone if they know John Wooden, kids today probably don’t. He did win 10 NCAA basketball titles coaching for UCLA. And who was Don Drysdale? Only a Dodger Hall of Fame pitcher alongside Koufax from Van Nuys High.
Bravo is fortunate he’s seen Dodger broadcasts mentioning Koufax at the stadium and on TV, motivating him to learn more, which led to seeing his windup on YouTube.
His older brother also wore No. 32, so no one was getting that uniform number other than a Bravo brother at Poly.
There is another Bravo set to arrive in the fall. Julian Bravo will be a freshman left-handed pitcher and wants No. 32.
“While I’m there he’s going to have to find a new number,” Fabian Bravo said.
Julian might also want to help his big brother gain a few pounds at the dinner table.
“My brother takes food from me,” he said.
As for recognizing Bravo’s Koufax connection, it was No. 32 that provided the clue. How many pitchers in the 1970s were choosing No. 32? A lot. And it’s great to see a 17-year-old in 2026 paying tribute to one of the greatest pitchers ever.
Emulating Koufax is hard, but forgetting him is unforgivable.
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Eli Manning retired in 2019 and missed out in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility in 2025. He was passed over again earlier this year but still fired back at a fan who claimed one of his contemporaries was the better quarterback.
On Tuesday, a social media user floated a theory about former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan, who now oversees football operations as the team’s president, last played in an NFL game in 2022. He announced his retirement in 2024, making him eligible for Hall of Fame consideration beginning in 2028.
“Matt Ryan was a better QB than Eli Manning… people just worship rings. Agree or nah,” the post read.
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New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning greets Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan after their game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 22, 2018. (Jason Getz/USA TODAY Sports)
Manning caught wind of the suggestion and weighed in, pointing to the two Super Bowl-winning teams he was part of during his standout run with the New York Giants.
“I will ponder this while I play with my rings…,” Manning wrote in a quote-tweet.
Ryan’s statistical production surpasses Manning’s, at least on paper. He was named NFL MVP in 2016, an honor Manning never earned. Ryan is also the most accomplished player in Falcons history and finished his career with more than 62,000 regular-season passing yards, compared with Manning’s 57,023.
NFC head coach Eli Manning leads a huddle during a practice session before the NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Both quarterbacks were selected to four Pro Bowls, but the key difference lies in championships. Manning won the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2011, while Ryan reached it once but fell short. Manning threw for a single season career-best 4,933 during the run leading up to the second Super Bowl title.
Ryan threw for 284 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to help the Falcons build a 25-point lead in the championship game — a matchup remembered for the New England Patriots engineering the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan passes the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Jan. 2, 2022. (Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports)
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The Falcons have reached the Super Bowl twice in franchise history, first in 1998, but the team is still chasing its first elusive championship.
The Giants marked their 100th season in 2024, winning four Super Bowls over the franchise’s century-long history.
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