Borg's tennis outlook

Bjorn Borg has to be at least mildly happy about the new rules established for 1983 tennis season. Any winner of a Grand Slam tournament (French, Australian, and US Opens, plus Wimbledon) during the three previous years will be exempt from pre-tournament qualifying matches. Because of his refusal to play in a prescribed number of events, Borg was faced with choosing between qualifying or not playing. In the case of Wimbledon this year, he chose the latter.

The situation will be the same at the US Open later this summer. There's no indication he'll play there either. And since he's never won the US title, he won't be granted any special entry privileges in succeeding years. So at some point, the five-time Wimbledon and six-time French champion must decide to play by the new rules or forget about becoming the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to win a Grand Slam.