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Sports legend Borg has revealed he takes life "day by day, year by year" following an "highly dangerous" health condition discovery.

Borg, now 69 shared the news in the final chapter of his memoir, explaining the disease was "in a critical phase" but he would "fight every day like it's a Wimbledon final".

The former world number one won eleven Grand Slam championships, among them five consecutive Wimbledons, prior to unexpectedly retiring at age 25.

Borg is now recovery after surgery in 2024, but characterized the news as "difficult psychologically".

"I spoke to the doctor and he said this is really, really bad," shared Borg.

"He mentioned you have these dormant illness agents and it's going to be a fight in the years to come."

"Twice a year I undergo check-ups. I completed my last test two weeks ago. It's a reality I have to live with."

Iconic 1980 match called "greatest match I experienced"

Borg initially held a tennis racket when his father received it in a table tennis competition.

The racquet was too heavy for the youthful player, leading him to create his unique double-handed stroke.

Borg captured 6 French Open titles between 1974 and 1981 and claimed his 5 Wimbledon wins from 1976 to 1980.

His SW19 final in 1980 against opponent John McEnroe – where McEnroe rescued 7 match points in a almost four-hour thriller – is regarded as one of the best tennis matches of all time.

"That final was the most rewarding match I ever played. It had everything," Borg stated.

Their rivalry was dubbed Ice and Fire, with McEnroe prone to heated emotional explosions and cool Borg rarely displaying a hint of feeling during a match.

The American would finally break Borg's reign at Wimbledon in the 1981 championship and beat him in the American Open final shortly after. Borg left the sport shortly after the New York defeat.

"We admired each other greatly, the three of us," Borg said of his competitions with McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.

"We competed to be the best in the world. To do that, you can't be best friends."

But now, he said: "We're close companions, John and I. We see each other, we dine together, we talk about modern tennis."

"We avoid discussing the old matches."

"I was lost in the world"

The Swede achieved 66 singles titles, held 109 weeks as world number one and set a unprecedented 41 successive wins at the Championships.

His retirement at twenty-five – a time when tennis players are starting to peak – was a surprise.

"I was done. I lost motivation and the drive," he said.

"Had I known what was going to happen in the following years, I would have kept playing tennis."

Through his memoir, Heartbeats: A Memoir, written together with his spouse Patricia, the usually reserved Borg speaks about his life after tennis struggles.

"I had no plan. People today, they have support. I was adrift," he said.

"There was more drugs, there was medications, drinking, to distance myself from reality."

"It was an escape. Of course it's harmful, it damages you as a human being."

Borg was hospitalized following an overdose in Milan in 1989 – an event which made him reassess life after tennis.

He returned to the professional circuit from 1991 to 1993 but did not secure a single match.

"I nearly died repeatedly," Borg revealed.

"I fixed my life. I'm content with my life."