Bjorn Borg Grays of Cambridge tennis racquet with colour photograph of Borg and black and white photograph, framed 

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It is exactly 50 years since Borg’s first Wimbledon victory in 1976., Borg was the epitome of tennis style and enjoyed a following comparable to that of a rockstar, winning back to back 5 Wimbledon titles in a row… not to mention 6 French Open titles. Borg with the Donnay racquet, Fila clothing & Diadora shoes became the iconic look that caught on throughout the world of tennis. Then 1983 …. He unexpectedly retired at 26 years old and virtually disappeared from the tennis scene, lots of breaking news and theories for why etc … after approximately 8 years he decided to compete again…it was in many peoples eyes seen as a risky comeback !!! 

Coming out of retirement he approached Donnay to get his beloved racquets but as technology had moved on they no longer made the wooden frames. They told Bjorn to take one of his Donnay frames to Grays of Cambridge as they specialise in making wooden sports equipment and bespoke wooden frames. He specifically asked for them to be able to take high tension, have the extended fairway leather grip to cater for his unique double handed backhand. He had these especially designed racquets for what sadly turned out to be a rather short comeback attempt. Bjorn was fanatical about many aspects of his routines and equipment. The tension was one of his absolute musts as he insisted on natural gut at 76-78lbs (today’s tension is 52-58lbs) This tension meant the racquets were almost unusable after each use so he would often throw them away. During his full time playing days he might easily go through a few not strings but frames per match depending on the weather conditions. 

Thirty five years ago I got a phone call from friend who worked near the ITF outside the Queens Club and knowing I was a big fan said Borg had come in after training with a bag containing amongst other things his racquets - he said he was now giving up for good and didn’t want them anymore … have them if you want… would I like them? I rushed over and have had them ever since. The frames are in immaculate condition, signed with a signed picture of him and one photo of him actually playing with these special racquets. In 2022 I was asked to play a social game at The Queens Club with Per Hjertveist, Borg’s long-standing agent. He was over for the week to see the Laver Cup Europe team at the 02 where Borg was captaining and Federer who was playing for his final time with Nadal - I told him about these racquets and how I came to have them …. after all this time with Borg he had never known much about these but was very intrigued to hear about and see them - I told him the whole story. He gave it some thought and kindly said if I could get them to his hotel the following day he would ask Borg if he would sign them. Apparently his agent said when Borg was handed them to sign he stopped for a while, looked at them and smiled. He said he hadn’t seen these for years - I said he can keep one as a thank you for signing them, he said “Yes please” so I know he has one. The only others I know of are one is at the factory of Grays who made them and one in the Wimbledon museum…. both unsigned.