When we talk about Wimbledon, Roger Federer instantly comes to our mind. His astounding run of eight Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon has made him one of the greatest tennis personalities ever. However, before Federer came into the picture, there was yet another tennis legend who was a heartthrob both on and off the court.

The Swedish tennis legend established his legacy on the court with both his astounding performance and his composed demeanor. Former world no. 1 and three-time Grand Slam champion Tracy Austin has expressed her opinion about how another tennis star reigned the heart of the Wimbledon crowd.

How did the Champion rule the Wimbledon before Roger Federer? 

Last year at Wimbledon’s center court’s centenary celebration, we saw the Swiss Maestro being the star of the show. As he stepped onto the greens of the SW19, the whole crowd went berserk. However, before all this love for Federer, there was Bjorn who had a cult-like following because of his legacy at Wimbledon. The popularity of Bjorn Borg gave even The Beatles competition.

With total 11 Grand Slam titles under his name, he won six Wimbledon titles consecutively. This made him a revered tennis player and every time he stepped onto the court, the crowd cheered for him like they would cheer for The Beatles.

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Former world no. 1 Tracy Austin talked about the celebrity-like influence of Bjorn Borg in an interview with Express Sport. She stated how women were “throwing themselves” at the Swedish player. Austin added, “I mean when Bjorn walked through the grounds of Wimbledon to go to the tea room, he was like a rockstar.”

He transcended the realm of tennis into that of being a celebrity. People loved him for more than his on-court performance. She added, “It was like The Beatles, you just saw this magnetism and people wanted to know more about him and who he was dating so it wasn’t just the tennis but it was the off-court stuff.”

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The off-court life of tennis players still amuses tennis enthusiasts like in earlier times. However, now the advent of social media is proving to be quite dangerous.

How have the dynamics between players and fans changed? 

Social media has paved the way for fans to interact with their favorite players directly. However, there are some miscreants who have used it to spread hate messages.

Former US Open champion, Sloane Stephens recently shared the plight of players who are still getting targeted by racist comments. So much so that even the elite investigation force, the FBI has gotten involved. 

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Hence, French Open has asked players to put software on their cell phones to filter out hate comments. Even then, these miscreants have found a loophole in the system. Hence, a lot of players suffer mentally because of online hate comments.