By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Hall of Famer Bjorn Borg believes Carlos Alcaraz will surpass King of Clay Rafa Nadal to become King of Tennis.
Photo credit: Laver Cup Facebook
Iconic champion Bjorn Borg ruled tennis capturing 11 Grand Slam titles in a superb seven-year span.
Hall of Famer Borg has seen tennis’ game-changing major monarch and his name is Carlos Alcaraz.
In a new interview with RTVE former world No. 1 Borg praises King of Clay Rafael Nadal for “unbelievable” achievements.
Borg boldly predicts Alcaraz will surpass 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal and become “King of Tennis.”
“Rafa is a good friend of mine. What he did in tennis is unbelievable: King of clay,” Borg told RTVE. “What he achieved is unbelievable and to see him on the court you’ve never seen a player like him on the court. He’s fighting. It doesn’t matter what the score is, he’s there.
“For me, mentally of all the players I’ve ever seen, [Rafa] is my favorite.”
Still Borg, who coached Alcaraz on the Laver Cup squad last September, says the reigning Roland Garros champion’s all-court acumen, phenomenal athleticism and all-surface success means he will surpass Nadal someday.
“I think he will achieve what Rafa did and he is an unbelievable player,” Borg said of Alcaraz. “He’s still very young. I think he’s going to win, I hope he’s going to win, I like Spanish players, I hope he’s going to win more Grand Slams and I think he will win more Grand Slams.
“He has the right mentality. He can play on any kind of surface. He’s been No. 1. I hope at least this year he wins at least one Grand Slam. I want to watch him because I like the guy.
“Let’s say it like this: Hopefully, maybe he’s gonna be the King of Tennis. I like that better.”
Playing with fire and flair, Alcaraz dominated Novak Djokovic for two sets then withstood a late rally charging to his second straight Wimbledon championship with a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) triumph in a commanding final in July.
The 21-year-old Spaniard seized his fourth Grand Slam crown in as many major finals—joining Roger Federer as the second man in Open Era history to win his first four Slam finals—and now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with elite champions as the sixth man in history to sweep Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season.
Alcaraz collected a Wimbledon champion’s check of £2,700,000 and embedded his name alongside Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Djokovic as the sixth man to complete the rare Roland Garros-Wimbledon double championship in succession.
Surveying today’s tennis, Borg says the ballistic speed of the ball is the biggest difference compared to his days of dominance.
“They hit the ball so much harder than we did in my time,” Borg said. “You have Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and other players—they hit the ball so much harder.
“Physically, we were in good shape too. But the way tennis is played today—it’s so much different.”
Though Borg was known as an unerring baseliner, he says he would absolutely change his style of play if he were competing against superstars of today’s tennis, including Djokovic, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
“ If I were to play today, I would have to change my way to play. And I would [change],” Borg said. “Because if you love the tennis and the sport you would change.
“Because our style, in the 70s and 80s, you cannot compare to today’s players like Djokovic, Federer and Nadal—you cannot. If I were to play today, I’d have to change the way I’m thinking and I’d have to change the style I’m playing until the style of today.”