Björn Borg strung his wooden rackets so tight that they reportedly broke strings without anyone hitting a ball.
Ask a modern player about tension and you will hear numbers in the low 50s. Ask about Borg in the 1970s and the number is more than 80 pounds, in natural gut, on a wooden frame.
That is the kind of detail that sounds like a myth. It is widely reported, and it makes sense once you see what he was chasing.
A Racket Built to Survive Its Strings
Borg’s Donnay frames were customised to his specifications for weight, length, balance and wood quality. Donnay is also reported to have added an extra ply to help the frame cope with the pressure of that much tension.
The stories that follow sound almost comic. On tour, he is said to have kept a dozen or more frames lined up by his bed, and two or three would sometimes snap a string overnight, untouched. One account claims he broke strings in 52 rackets on the way to the 1981 French Open title. Treat the exact figure as legend, but the pattern as real.
Why Gut Made It Possible
Natural gut is elastic and holds tension far better than most alternatives. That is why the best players of the wooden era used it, and why it still has a following among players who want feel more than raw spin.
His great rival went the other way. John McEnroe strung his Dunlops in the low 50s and, by reports, went through more than a hundred sets of gut in a year. Same string, opposite answer. More on that in Borg vs McEnroe.
What Happened to Tension
Modern frames and polyester strings went in another direction altogether. The average on the men’s tour today sits around 50 to 52 pounds, far below Borg’s numbers. Different materials, different swing speeds, different game. The eighty-pound era is gone, and it is not coming back.
The string that made it possible never actually left. Here is the story of how it stayed, and how to restring a wood racket with it yourself.
A practical note: do not copy Borg’s numbers on a vintage frame. Old wood and very high tension do not mix, and a wooden racket that has survived fifty years is worth protecting.
Curious what real natural gut feels like? Join the list for Natural Gut, or get the free guide to start your own racket collection.
— The Editor, Court Privée
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