Borg Announces Retirement

Tennis star Bjorn Borg yesterday announced his retirement from tournament tennis, saying that the game was no longer fun for him.

Borg dominated the tennis world in the second half of the 70s, winning an unprecedented five straight Wimbledon titles. But the blond, headbanded Swede dropped out of the pro circuit last year, declining to play Wimbledon after tournament officials ruled that his inactivity would have forced him to complete in the qualifying rounds.

In an interview with Kvallposten, a newspaper in Maimo, Sweden, Borg said he had decided to cancel his comeback after a layoff of some one-and-a-half years from tournament competition.

"I have not got the right motivation," the paper quoted him as saying "I cannot give 100 percent, and if I cannot do that it would not be fair to myself to go on. Tennis has to be fun if you are to get to the top and I don't feel that way about it anymore. That's why I quit."

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In New York, Borg's agent, Bob Kain, confirmed the retirement, saying the tennis star will complete his contract obligations by playing at Monte Carlo and the Suntory Cup in Tokyo.

Kain, who was attending the Volvo Masters tournament, said Borg has not completely ruled out returning to the court in 1984 or later.