This is a very unique racquet from the Bergelin collection. When Bjorn Borg did not have a contract to use certain racquets in different parts of the world, Bergelin would pain over what ever he was using at the time in order not to give the company any free advertising. This was a common practise when Borg would change from one racquet maker to the next. In this situation being in 1980, Borg was using the famous Donnay Allwoods. It is the same frame and on the end cap, although hard to see in the photo, the red D for Donnay has been scratched out. He attended tournaments in Boca West Florida and also Salisbury Maryland and used these rare racquets during play. The magazine shown here advertising the 1981 tournament used a photo from the previous year as Borg had to pull out of the 81 event due to illness. You can see this exact type of racquet being used on the cover. Borg took the 1980 Pepsi Challenge championship be defeating his good friend Vitas Gerulaitis to win 150,000 dollars. In the video of that finals below, Borg is using one of these exact style racquets. The other photo is of Borg at Salisbury February 25, 1980, in which he took down Vijay Amritraj to win the title. The letter signed by Borg also states that these type were used in tournaments in Asia. Very well used racquet showing many signs of wear and signed on the leather grip. Finding a photo of him using these rare blacked out racquets was no easy feat. Our consignor stated it’s been 12 years searching for photos of this style. The Ice man’s racquets were all specially designed with Lennart Bergelin personally handling all his equipment. Every racquet was carefully constructed, gripped and strung to his exact specifications and tested prior to tournaments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDbr0rJA2Hk
Björn Borg is a Swedish former World No. 1 tennis player counted amongst the greatest tennis players of all time. The first male professional to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles and holds numerous Open Era records which still stands. He uniquely pulled off five successive Wimbledon victories between 1976 and 1980 and, also achieved in three consecutive years the most difficult “double” in tennis, victory on clay at the French Open in Paris followed by victory on grass at Wimbledon. In addition to those distinctions, he was the ITF Champion from 1978-80, ATP player of the year from 1976-80 and, was the year-end world No. 1 in the ATP rankings in 1979 and 1980. In 1979 he became the first player to earn more than one million dollars in prize money in a single season.
In nine attempts at the Men’s Singles between the years of 1973 and 1981, Borg won 51 matches and lost four. Between his 1975 quarter-final defeat by the eventual champion, Arthur Ashe, and his loss in the 1981 final to John McEnroe, Borg won 41 consecutive singles at The Wimbledon Championships.
Borg turned professional in 1973 after winning the Wimbledon Junior Championship in 1972 and managed to reach the fourth round of his first French Open. He won his first top-level singles title at the Italian Open in 1974, shortly before his 18th birthday and became the youngest winner of that tournament, and two weeks later he became the youngest-ever male to win the French Open. In 1976, at the age of 20 years and 1 month, he became the youngest male of the modern era when up to that time to win the Wimbledon Championship. It was his first, and he did it in an astonishing sequence by demolishing seven opponents, culminating with Ilie Nastase, without dropping a set. It was only the fourth time a man had done that at Wimbledon, and it has not been accomplished since.
Björn Borg retired from professional tennis in January 1983 at the age of 26 after 10 years on tour. During his career he polarized the world after becoming the first “rock star” of the tennis circuit in a phenomenon known as Borgmania. This was due to his cool demeanor, his long hair that flowed to his shoulders, to the headbands he always wore, his tight-fitting Fila "White Line " and "Settanta" lines of shirts and shorts, and of course his famous Donnay racquet that featured a longer leather handle to accommodate his two-handed backhand that he revolutionized.
Lennart Bergelin was a Swedish tennis player and coach. As a player, for AIK, Bergelin won nine Swedish championship singles titles between 1945 and 1955, and the French Open doubles title in 1948. Bergelin is best known for his work with Björn Borg, whom he coached from 1971 until the tennis star retired in 1983, helping him to win 11 Grand Slam tournaments. Bergelin also captained Sweden to its first Davis Cup title. Some tennis coaches focus on the mechanics of the game, teaching perfection of form, grips, and other techniques. Others emphasize strategy, inspiration, and other mental aspects of the game. Yet others strive to simply bring out the natural best in their players. It is in the third category that one finds Lennart Bergelin.
"We are almost like father and son," Borg once told The New Yorker. "Lennart has a nice touch. He always gets you in a good mood and that is a big thing when you are playing professional tennis tournaments." Bergelin agreed: "One of the most important things I do for Bjorn is to be a good friend. That is not hard. We know each other well, we get along well, we enjoy talking tennis together, and when he feels tired and over-worked, I can help out by being good company."
This item will be up for auction at studioauctions.com in early 2025.