"The council treats Bjorn Borg like they are his parents & he is a 5-year-old"- When Ivan Lendl supported Swede getting exemption from Slam qualifiers
In 1982, Ivan Lendl supported Bjorn Borg's request for an exemption from Grand Slam qualifiers. The incident occurred when the Swede refused to adhere to Rule 8 of the Grand Prix guide.
The rule stated that players must participate in at least 10 tournaments annually, excluding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. Failure to meet this requirement would result in the need to qualify for all tournaments.
Borg had been away from the tour for an extended period due to an injury that year and decided to reduce his schedule to just seven Grand Prix tournaments (now known as the Masters). As a result, he would have needed to qualify for the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, which he was reluctant to do.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club ruled that Borg couldn't play at Wimbledon without qualifying. The Swede soon announced that he would not participate in the tournament. In fact, he only played in two events in 1982: the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he lost to Yannick Noah in the quarterfinals, and the Alan King Tennis Classic, where Dick Stockton defeated him in the second round of qualifying.
The ITF and ATP tried to persuade Bjorn Borg to reconsider, but their efforts were unsuccessful. This decision did not sit well with Ivan Lendl, who felt that the council treated the 11-time Major champion like a five-year-old child.
"The council treats Borg like they are his parents and he is a 5-year-old. Bjorn is old enough to know what he should do," Lendl told the media (via Sports Illustrated).
Bjorn Borg on choosing not to compete in Wimbledon 1982: 'It is a matter of principle"
Bjorn Borg stated that he chose to forego participating in the 1982 Wimbledon Championships because he would have had to play the qualifying rounds, and that it was a matter of principle for him. However, he clarified that he wasn't planning to retire.
''I'm not going to play in Wimbledon this year because I have to go to the qualifying tournament,'' Borg told a news conference in Tokyo, where he was playing exhibition tennis (via The New York Time).
''It is a matter of principle. If I had started my schedule in January, there would have been no problem. I still love the game, I am not planning to retire, but I won't be at Wimbledon," he added.
Borg is a five-time Wimbledon champion, having lifted the trophy at SW19 for five consecutive years from 1976 to 1980.