Leo Borg, the teenage son of Swedish tennis great Björn Borg, plays his famous father as a young boy in the movie Borg Vs. McEnroe. Like his father, Leo Borg is a tennis player.
Unlike his father, though, it’s not yet clear how brightly Leo Borg’s star will shine on the tennis court, although he’s showing signs of promise. He is, after all, only 14-years-old. Leo Borg is prominently featured in the movie repeatedly hitting a tennis ball against the garage door of the family home. His portrayal of his tennis great father as a tempestuous, trouble-making youngster also reveals that Björn Borg’s famously icy demeanor – which earned him the nickname “ice borg” – came later in life.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Leo Borg Is the Son of Björn Borg’s Third Wife, Patricia
Getty Former professional tennis player Bjorn Borg (L) and wife Patricia Ostfeldt attend the ATP Heritage Celebration at The Waldorf=Astoria on August 23, 2013 in New York City.
Björn Borg has been married three times. Borg is currently married to his third wife, Patricia Östfeld. He did marry Mariana Simionescu, the fellow tennis player featured as his girlfriend in the movie, but they broke up. Today, she lives in Monaco and is unattached; she did say she enjoyed the movie and was quoted as saying, “I don’t know if I was the real love of Bjorn’s life, but he was for me.” They divorced in 1984.
Borg also “fathered a child with Jannike Bjorling, a teenager he met while judging a wet T-shirt competition, but then married Loredana Berte, an Italian glamour model,” according to UK Daily Mail. That marriage also ruptured but he seems to have found stability and happiness with his third and current wife, a real-estate broker. His son with Bjorling is named Robin Borg, who played tennis in college but went into business, working with his father’s fashion line instead.
2. Leo ‘Loves Tennis & Wants to Play It All the Time,’ His Father Says
Leo Borg has inherited his father’s love of the sport.
“He loves tennis and wants to play it all the time,” Björn Borg told Le Parisien newspaper. “He is training in one of the best Swedish clubs where there are some great coaches. But I don’t want to get in the mix too much.”
Borg told CNN that his son was “completely nuts about tennis.” The network reported that Leo “represents the Under-14s for Sweden’s prestigious Royal Lawn club.” Borg told CNN his son plays tennis 2-3 hours every day.
Still, the father sometimes takes to the court with his offspring. “Sometimes we play together because we have a court at home. If he asks me for some suggestions, I clearly give him them,” Borg told the French magazine.
You can see Leo’s tennis stats here. He has not yet achieved his father’s legendary dominance over competition. He’s lost 10 career singles, and he’s won 7, according to The International Tennis Federation.
3. Leo Borg Was Described as a ‘Spitting Image’ of His Famous Dad
Leo Borg(SWE) serving for 1st set v Jack Anthrop.(USA). Family resemblance is there but game more committed to moving forward.
#JOB17
When Leo Borg takes to the court, some can’t help but notice the uncanny resemblance. “He put it down the line on one shot and his dad was left floundering and the crowd were just screaming for him. I’ve never seen anything like it and he’s a a spitting image of Bjorn Borg,” said one witness who observed Leo playing tennis.
According to The Sun, “Leo is ranked Sweden’s No 1 in his age group and No 20 in Europe” and does not have his father’s legendarily calm personality.
Swedish tennis player Mats Wilander echoed the thoughts of many when he said that it would be great for Sweden if Leo Borg succeeds in professional tennis.” We have had children who have walked in their parents’ footsteps and become world stars in golf and ice hockey,” he told Sportbladet.
“Why should we not be able to have it too? It would be huge for tennis not only in Sweden but in the whole world. It’s unnatural for a 14-15 year old to be in the situation where I actually get questions about him. We never know how a person reacts to that attention,” he added to the publication.
4. Leo Wrote a Letter to the Director Asking to Audition in the Movie
The hosts own Leo Borg is one of four remaining swedes @kungenskanna
Interesting day coming up in Stockholm @TennisEurope
Leo Borg sought out the role as his father in the movie, and it didn’t take much convincing, especially when the filmmakers learned his family background.
“We didn’t say what the movie was. And then we got a letter from Björn Borg’s own son, which his mother helped him craft, saying he would really like to audition for the film and that his name was Leo Borg,” director Janus Metz told USA Today. “And in parenthesis at the end he said he was Björn Borg’s son.”
On Instagram, his father frequently sings the son’s praises. “Leo Borg winner of Salk open BS16! Best start ever of 2018!” he wrote with a January 2018 post. In 2017, he wrote, “Leo played so well and lost 2-6,7-5, 4-6. We are so proud over you! The only way is up! ??????.”
5. Borg Has Referred to Himself as a ‘Tennis Dad’
Great to have @Wimbledon legend Bjorn Borg and his son Leo at the Nike Junior International this week t.co/FRib70XHbm
In 2016, CNN reported that Borg had settled into a quiet family life back in his home country of Sweden, reporting, “Borg enjoys a quiet lifestyle on the outskirts of Stockholm with his third wife Patricia Ostfeldt, visiting the office of his clothing brand three times a week and even doing the school run with his 13-year-old son Leo.”
“I’m a tennis dad now,” he said.
“I sometimes look back to those days with all the girls, but I have a great family life now and I prefer that, staying at home with the family,” he told UK Telegraph in 2007. “This is my third marriage. Patricia and I have been together now for seven years and I’m so happy. It feels as though I have found the right woman for me and I’m now living the way I want to live. I have the perfect life now and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
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Leo Borg, Björn Borg’s Son: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know