After watching this video, Bjorn Borg is clearly the pioneer and father of the modern tennis. His tennis mechanics paved way to what tennis is today. Thanks for sharing this video.
Borg explains that he puts his left foot in front before hitting the forehand but when you watch the videos you can see that he hits an open stance forehand like all the top players hit today. His "bolero" style finish where he whips the arm upwards on finishing reminds me of Nadal. Technically, this man was decades ahead of the pack. No wonder he beat them all.
I had strange grip... it's now the most used grip for the forehand. He was a pioneer in the game with his grips, style of play, use of topspin, conditioning..everything..simply the best
Brilliant! Borg was one of the greatest players ever and a true tennis genius. His style was very innovative and allowed him to do some amazing things with the ball similar to today's top stars. But it required a lot more hand-eye coordination then simply rotating your body. Most people can't do this and even Borg when he got older and tried to play on the senior tour had lost some of his hand eye coordination, reflexes and timing and couldn't compete with people who had simpler swings like McEnroe. He said his grip was a western grip but it is a low eastern grip like Federer's grip. He said a volley is a short swing. He did not say it was a punch like so many instructors say which is a bad description of it. It is indeed a short swing. He said to start out having fun and don't be serious because you will tire out too quickly. That is what happened to him when he quit at just 26.
Perhaps loosing at the 1981 Wimbledon title is what took out this great man. He had the look of shock and disbelief in his face after that my match. Up until this point and after five consecutive Wimbledon titles he was pretty much invincible, god like in the tennis world.
Jerome1965 Yep! If you watch players today, you see that they hit the forehand off the back foot, with an open stance, which is exactly what Borg did. Their swings aren't as loopy as Borg's was, but basically the same technique. Watching Borg was how I learned to hit topspin off both wings.
he revolutionized the forehand , thats the way majority of players today play their game where topspin and leverage is of the highest priority , borg was such a genius
His stroke on the forehand starts like Federer’s (with racket face down to the court) and ends like Nadal’s way over his head. And of course his weight is on the back-foot at the at the strike point just like Federer and Nadal. Beautiful but no one hit it this way in Borg’s era. He was the truly the Grandfather of modern tennis and a genius. Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Sampras and Borg.
He describes the grips differently than what we hear today, no wonder they have us confused. He appears to describe what is called the eastern grip today, as a western grip. And he calls an eastern grip where it looks like his bottom index knuckle is on bevel #8 for a backhand. And to me it's closer to making sense than the descriptions used today.
I think it took more years after this video to his teachings reach young players, because we were watching Borg on TV but the coaches at that time was still teaching old school to me... revolutionary ideas take time to spread.
Yes, when I grew up we were all being taught the standard Western grip even if it didn’t feel natural. When Borg, Vilas and others came along we saw that you could actually successfully hit almost any way that was comfortable.
So simply and clearly explained and demonstrated. Especially valuable on the serve, which these days is often broken down so much that it seems very complicated.
It is amazing how ahead of the game he was, but even more amazing how unaware he was of what he did on the tennis court. I've coached college and ATP players for years and players virtually never really know what they do...like here him saying it is very important to not bring the racquet high on the backhand. Evidence he didn't realize that the biomechanics that worked on his forehand that he says was important was also exactly what he did on his backhand...but he didn't know it...even considering he watched video of himself many times...he still didn't realize to what degree he was doing what biomechanicallly made sense on both sides...
I wish my coaches back in the 70's could have watched this video before they kept forcing me back to a Continental grip and "swinging gate" forehand motion. They also poo-pooed my semi open stance. You don't know what you don't know
@@thebigmonstaandy6644 it was the best technique for him cuz his game was and is unique. But yeah most players hit the BH flatter like Conners even Rafa and Djok hit a pretty flat BH compared to Borg. The reason is they don't have the top hand release as Bjorn did so their BH is more boxy and linear. But guess what Borg BH suited him as he could dip his BH more and make sharper angles on his passing shots and that worked so good on the attacking style players of that time as they were always attacking the net.
Thanx for posting. I bought a Donnay raquet like that for £45 , in 1976. If my dad had known that he would of gone ballistic!!! Nice raquet though. He strung his at a tightest of all 65 lbs.
On the backhand you can see him hitting a top spin backhand to his opponents backhand slice backhand. So again technically he had more power and a greater margin for error when playing backhand to backhand.
He had a reverse finish on his forehand, somewhat like Pete Sampras did on his running forehands, or like Rafa. He had the beginnings of the modern forehand. Borg was a joy to watch. My brother would emulate him and hit topspin lobs and heavy topspin forehands. My brother was very annoying. He didn't have the two hander on the backhand side though.
Can i ask something? In this video Borg is saying that he was using a western grip on his forehand, but to me it seems that he was using a semi western grip. Does anyone knows what kind of grip he was using?
+xsandinistax There is a good picture of Borg holding the racket at an angle. You can try to match the angle and ignore the label. I agree I think this is semi-western.
I know I'm late to this, but the terms for what was considered Eastern and Western have fluctuated as players started using more and more extreme grips. Borg's grip is not as extreme as modern western grips, so yes, it's more akin to what is now considered semi-western.
Considered to be western grip back then when many pros were still using continental and eastern grips for forehands. It's now considered to be semi-western or extreme eastern grip by today's definition.
hit the ball at highest point reach up r in front of left foot then follow through on the left side all in 1 motion foot towards the net toss straight up in front of your body
Borg was clearly revolutionary. Nadal was also revolutionary and more successful in terms of outcomes, but the step ahead that Borg made was just too big. Here's some evidence.
Nothing like having the greatest athlete of his generation stand in a room with a chair in the way so he can't actually swing. They must have spent hundreds of dollars making this video. Interesting to compare his backhand (weight tending to go back on any ball higher than waist) with Agassi's 15 years later, with weight shift more through the ball. Surprising Borg could win so much with such a defensive-looking backhand. But I guess only Connors and McEnroe could effectively pick on it, and Borg still out-slugged Lendl in their meetings in '81 -- and in Jan. '81 Masters final Borg's backhand is less defensive than it looks in these clips here.
Maybe the sequence? but yeah Borg could rip some BH passing shots by one of the best volleyers of all John McEnroe. Thought Mac got him in their second Wimbledon final. Borg got some of his technique on BH from slap shot playin hockey. It's more visible on his hard BH passing shots.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. (Psalms 51:1-4)
The father of modern tennis. Rafas forehand is all borg. Borg only played until 25 STILL got 11 slams AND he did it with a wooden racquet, wich weights four times modern racquets and has a sweet spot half, half, the size of modern racquets. So tell me again about your boring big 3 thing....goat thing
If Borg was never born, all players might still be playing one handed backhand. But because the #Goat was born almost ALL players hit a two handed backhand and a heavy topspin forehand, like rafa....tell me again about your ridiculous goat race. Borg is superior or right in the same conversation as the big 3.
After watching this video, Bjorn Borg is clearly the pioneer and father of the modern tennis. His tennis mechanics paved way to what tennis is today. Thanks for sharing this video.
This is awesome! He was my "teacher", as I could not afford lessons growing up, but I played tapes of his matches hundreds of times, thank you!
Borg explains that he puts his left foot in front before hitting the forehand but when you watch the videos you can see that he hits an open stance forehand like all the top players hit today. His "bolero" style finish where he whips the arm upwards on finishing reminds me of Nadal. Technically, this man was decades ahead of the pack. No wonder he beat them all.
Growing up, Borg was my favorite athlete. Watching Borg play tennis is poetry in motion!
I had strange grip... it's now the most used grip for the forehand. He was a pioneer in the game with his grips, style of play, use of topspin, conditioning..everything..simply the best
Watched this video every since 2016 and I watch it every time I need some motivation. 🎾🔥
That’s awesome
Brilliant! Borg was one of the greatest players ever and a true tennis genius. His style was very innovative and allowed him to do some amazing things with the ball similar to today's top stars. But it required a lot more hand-eye coordination then simply rotating your body. Most people can't do this and even Borg when he got older and tried to play on the senior tour had lost some of his hand eye coordination, reflexes and timing and couldn't compete with people who had simpler swings like McEnroe. He said his grip was a western grip but it is a low eastern grip like Federer's grip. He said a volley is a short swing. He did not say it was a punch like so many instructors say which is a bad description of it. It is indeed a short swing. He said to start out having fun and don't be serious because you will tire out too quickly. That is what happened to him when he quit at just 26.
Perhaps loosing at the 1981 Wimbledon title is what took out this great man. He had the look of shock and disbelief in his face after that my match. Up until this point and after five consecutive Wimbledon titles he was pretty much invincible, god like in the tennis world.
@@mikemcneeley1580 he even said he was not 100% when he lost that final and that's why he decided to retire. So bad for the world of Tennis.
Thanks. So fantastic to hear (again) that back then people thought Borg hit the ball 'wrong'.... the father of the modern forehand, one could say...
Jerome1965 Yep! If you watch players today, you see that they hit the forehand off the back foot, with an open stance, which is exactly what Borg did. Their swings aren't as loopy as Borg's was, but basically the same technique. Watching Borg was how I learned to hit topspin off both wings.
hodell82 Back then, thay said Borg has a Western forehand grip. Today i would not even call it a semi Western
he revolutionized the forehand , thats the way majority of players today play their game where topspin and leverage is of the highest priority , borg was such a genius
His stroke on the forehand starts like Federer’s (with racket face down to the court) and ends like Nadal’s way over his head. And of course his weight is on the back-foot at the at the strike point just like Federer and Nadal. Beautiful but no one hit it this way in Borg’s era. He was the truly the Grandfather of modern tennis and a genius. Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Sampras and Borg.
He describes the grips differently than what we hear today, no wonder they have us confused. He appears to describe what is called the eastern grip today, as a western grip. And he calls an eastern grip where it looks like his bottom index knuckle is on bevel #8 for a backhand. And to me it's closer to making sense than the descriptions used today.
I think it took more years after this video to his teachings reach young players, because we were watching Borg on TV but the coaches at that time was still teaching old school to me... revolutionary ideas take time to spread.
Yes, when I grew up we were all being taught the standard Western grip even if it didn’t feel natural. When Borg, Vilas and others came along we saw that you could actually successfully hit almost any way that was comfortable.
amazing! this videoclip is like discovering the Rosetta Stone
Ha ha, it is a classic. I’m glad I kept it all theses years
That's more than I heard stoic, laconic Ice-Borg talk in his whole career. Unique, interesting video.
So simply and clearly explained and demonstrated. Especially valuable on the serve, which these days is often broken down so much that it seems very complicated.
saw this for the first time and realized this is the complete package for tennis lessons.
Excellent. He was my best player back in the day.
Borg’s greatest strength was the speed of his first step to the ball. To this day, nobody was faster with his first step than Borg.
So ahead of his time. I love the wiping forehand over the head as used by Rafael Nadal.
It is amazing how ahead of the game he was, but even more amazing how unaware he was of what he did on the tennis court. I've coached college and ATP players for years and players virtually never really know what they do...like here him saying it is very important to not bring the racquet high on the backhand. Evidence he didn't realize that the biomechanics that worked on his forehand that he says was important was also exactly what he did on his backhand...but he didn't know it...even considering he watched video of himself many times...he still didn't realize to what degree he was doing what biomechanicallly made sense on both sides...
the swedish sensation
bjorn borg
i wish i would have seen this video 35 years ago.
I wish my coaches back in the 70's could have watched this video before they kept forcing me back to a Continental grip and "swinging gate" forehand motion. They also poo-pooed my semi open stance. You don't know what you don't know
you would have won every time!
@@racquettek7491 Same here, I emulated him as much as I could, but I didn't understand that he didn't use a continental grip.
That backhand is unique no one has repeated it but it’s awesome
I copied his backhand lol. But you don’t see his type of backhand on the pro tour.
@@dominickreyes7718 i meant to say I have yet to see a pro tennis player to copy it
@@nealsutaria227 this is not the best backhand technigue.Connors had better backhand.Thats why nobody uses this technigue now.
@@thebigmonstaandy6644 it was the best technique for him cuz his game was and is unique. But yeah most players hit the BH flatter like Conners even Rafa and Djok hit a pretty flat BH compared to Borg. The reason is they don't have the top hand release as Bjorn did so their BH is more boxy and linear. But guess what Borg BH suited him as he could dip his BH more and make sharper angles on his passing shots and that worked so good on the attacking style players of that time as they were always attacking the net.
@@willkittwk Nowdays , you cant play well with such technique. Even Borg has another backhand technique now.
When he says western grip, he’s showing today’s eastern grip.
There´s no "today´s eastern grip" (eastern has always been with the index knuckle on bevel 2). Borg wrongly said western, he meant eastern.
nearly every player tried to copy his fluid style. artistry in motion
Thanks for sharing - great stuff
this is where i learned to play tennis
Thanx for posting. I bought a Donnay raquet like that for £45 , in 1976. If my dad had known that he would of gone ballistic!!! Nice raquet though. He strung his at a tightest of all 65 lbs.
On the backhand you can see him hitting a top spin backhand to his opponents backhand slice backhand. So again technically he had more power and a greater margin for error when playing backhand to backhand.
Living legend 🎾🏆🔝
Thank you JZTV for this treasure video.
The father of modern tennis. It is strange because he refused to follow conventional teaching and did his own thing. And now everyone plays like him.
He had a reverse finish on his forehand, somewhat like Pete Sampras did on his running forehands, or like Rafa. He had the beginnings of the modern forehand. Borg was a joy to watch. My brother would emulate him and hit topspin lobs and heavy topspin forehands. My brother was very annoying. He didn't have the two hander on the backhand side though.
Even the music is awesome!
I know right, I need a track listing with time stamps 😮
Borgs son will play Rafa tomorrow. At 2 am
ボルグのバックハンドのスローモーションを観ると華麗だね。
ボルグの時代から進化しているはずのテニスなのに彼ほどの美しいバックハンドは未だに観られない・・・
thank a lot for yr preparing such great video
Ivan Lendl is the uncle of modern tennis.
The father is Bjorn Borg.
I LOVE Bjorn! Ugh, this video makes me wish I still did acid.
Great stuff--thanks!
Borg’s back hand is no a true two handed back because he releases one hand near the end the shot.
Can i ask something? In this video Borg is saying that he was using a western grip on his forehand, but to me it seems that he was using a semi western grip. Does anyone knows what kind of grip he was using?
+xsandinistax There is a good picture of Borg holding the racket at an angle. You can try to match the angle and ignore the label. I agree I think this is semi-western.
I know I'm late to this, but the terms for what was considered Eastern and Western have fluctuated as players started using more and more extreme grips. Borg's grip is not as extreme as modern western grips, so yes, it's more akin to what is now considered semi-western.
Considered to be western grip back then when many pros were still using continental and eastern grips for forehands. It's now considered to be semi-western or extreme eastern grip by today's definition.
Borg and Federer have similar forehands..check out Borg and Federer forehands comparison same grip same mechanics
Yes! Yes! Yes! I noticed that to.
unit turn step in
hit the ball at highest point reach up r in front of left foot then follow through on the left side
all in 1 motion
foot towards the net toss straight up in front of your body
BORG!!!
donnay racket loop swing
I would say Tom Okker was really the father of the modern forehand. He hit like Borg before Borg.
I like This vídeo of the best ice man.
short takeback in front short swing
sergio tachini
What's the song at the very beginning of the video?
I honestly have no idea but let me know if you find out.
private lessons with bjorn borg
"Exaggerated wild topspin" what they said
Borg was clearly revolutionary. Nadal was also revolutionary and more successful in terms of outcomes, but the step ahead that Borg made was just too big. Here's some evidence.
ウッドのレギュラーラケットでのレッスンだから､今の時代に忠実に実行するのは難しいかも｡でも､彼のフォームの美しさの素になっているレッスンは､今も参考にして､充分に価値があると思う｡効率の良い力の入れ具合や､スイングの工夫した軌道は､威力のあるトップスピンを生み出し､いろいろな層のプレーヤーに参考になると思う｡
i crossover with the front foot
follow through to right side
Swedens best tennis
very low start on 2 hands bend the kneesthen come up
come under the ball bend knees
in front of you head down look at the ball finish high up over
dont burnout relax
practice play as much as you can
dont take too seriously in the begginning
When was this video made? Why would Borg reveal his secrets? This is amazing.
Look at the foot work
smash be ready
His backhand is very similar to Jimmy Connors. The off hand doesn't finish over his shoulder, he let's go of the racquet immediately after contact.
+JoshDragon18 Borg's backhand is nothing like Jimmy's.
Josh
Jimmys backhand motion is with straight arms and some slice when he hit the ball. Borg with topspin.
raquet back your finger points hit at highest point
Nothing like having the greatest athlete of his generation stand in a room with a chair in the way so he can't actually swing. They must have spent hundreds of dollars making this video. Interesting to compare his backhand (weight tending to go back on any ball higher than waist) with Agassi's 15 years later, with weight shift more through the ball. Surprising Borg could win so much with such a defensive-looking backhand. But I guess only Connors and McEnroe could effectively pick on it, and Borg still out-slugged Lendl in their meetings in '81 -- and in Jan. '81 Masters final Borg's backhand is less defensive than it looks in these clips here.
Maybe the sequence? but yeah Borg could rip some BH passing shots by one of the best volleyers of all John McEnroe. Thought Mac got him in their second Wimbledon final. Borg got some of his technique on BH from slap shot playin hockey. It's more visible on his hard BH passing shots.
His western grip is mild compared to today’s standards
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. (Psalms 51:1-4)
Borg has No western grip. 😂😂😂
head down in front of yourshoulders feet push off front foot in front
private lesson get out of here !
secret techniques
swedish
I still prefer Mcenroe and Edberg.
The father of modern tennis. Rafas forehand is all borg. Borg only played until 25 STILL got 11 slams AND he did it with a wooden racquet, wich weights four times modern racquets and has a sweet spot half, half, the size of modern racquets. So tell me again about your boring big 3 thing....goat thing
If Borg was never born, all players might still be playing one handed backhand. But because the #Goat was born almost ALL players hit a two handed backhand and a heavy topspin forehand, like rafa....tell me again about your ridiculous goat race. Borg is superior or right in the same conversation as the big 3.