Does Bjorn Borg have a legacy bearer? While the Swedish tennis star took the tennis world by storm during his era, it looks like his son Leo Borg is now ready to take up the mantle. The 21-year-old had been trying his luck at Sweden’s Royal Lawn Tennis Club for seven years. However, testing times seemingly instigated him to look for better opportunities. He has shown much-needed improvement, likely due to the qualified coaches of the Rafa Nadal Academy.

In 2020, the young pro commenced his nascent career on the ATP Tour and was looking to match the formidability of his peers on the circuit. With that being said, it wasn’t easy for the Swede to script noteworthy results without expert guidance. To much amazement, he remedied the situation perfectly!

Leo decided to unpack at the Rafa Nadal Academy during the 2020 season. After exploring his options with his coach, Rickard Billing, and father, Bjorn, Sweden’s young hope confirmed his spot at the highly decorated facility owned by the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, in Mallorca, Spain. Shortly afterward, Borg’s coach reserved a few words to express his enthusiasm for enrolling the former World No. 334 in the coaching center. “Wow! It’s fun with him, even if we would have loved to have him with us.”

Leo has delivered a string of notable results during his time on the professional juniors’ circuit. He claimed the No. 12 spot on the World Junior rankings, with his most recent conquest witnessed at an ITF event in Jamaica last year. Despite delivering promising results on the ITF circuit, he has yet to make his mark on the ATP Tour.

Ironically, now might be the perfect opportunity for the Swede’s wishes to come to life as he looks to lock horns with the man behind the Rafa Nadal Academy shortly.

Leo Borg to clash with his childhood idol Rafael Nadal

Tennis legend Bjorn Borg’s son Leo is scheduled to square off against 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal at the Swedish Open in Bastad on Monday, July 15. Notably, the upcoming clash will mark the duo’s maiden on-court encounter. Surprisingly, the Mallorcan ‘King of Clay’ also happens to be Leo’s childhood idol. In 2021, during an interview with the Spanish daily ‘Marca‘, the young Swede expressed his fondness for the former World No. 1, highlighting the special place he marked in his childhood.

Moreover, Borg also talked about his time at the Rafa Nadal Academy and addressed his return to the facility once he concluded his professional tournament commitments. For the uninitiated, Leo crossed paths with the Spaniard at a time when his father Bjorn served as the captain of the European team in the Laver Cup. “I met Nadal at the Laver Cup because my father is the captain of the European team. He was always my idol since I was little. I go to Mallorca from time to time. I will be back when I finish in Marbella.”

Unfortunately for Leo, his chances against the 38-year-old at the clay court seem rather slim. Owing to his previous results on the ATP Tour, which haven’t been very promising, Nadal will be a big threat. However, bearing in mind that the Spaniard is out of form due to multiple past injury concerns, it is likely that the Swedish native will be looking to take advantage of Nadal’s possible slip-ups at the ATP 250 event.