Bjorn Borg and Fila, a 50-year union of tennis and style, remains iconic

Even though it happened almost 50 years ago, tennis legend Bjorn Borg can vividly remember the first time he saw the Fila tennis gear that would later become his trademark.

"It was 1974 and I was playing a tournament in Philadelphia," said Borg, who talked to The Desert Sun on Friday while attending the BNP Paribas Open. "These two guys, Adriano Panatta and Ion Tiriac, walked in to play in the tournament and all the players stopped and said 'Wow! What is this?' The design and the colors and the material they wore. During that time (men's tennis fashion) was just like plain white, very boring clothing. It was Fila and they were the first ones in tennis to do something different."

A year later, Borg signed with Fila and the rest is tennis fashion history. The iconic pin-stripe shirt with a blue collar, the red, white and blue jacket, the headband struggling to control the long hair. Tennis fans and non-tennis fans can picture the Borg/Fila look.

Borg, now 66 years old, is still very active in the world of tennis, primarily as the captain of Team Europe for the Laver Cup. He loves interacting with today's players, but he admitted he doesn't play a lot anymore.

"If I play for an hour, I can't move for two weeks," he said with a chuckle.

He also could only laugh when he remembered his time playing in Indian Wells. Borg participated in some of the earliest iterations of this event and did not have much success. He last played here in 1979 when the BNP Paribas Open was known as the Congoleum Classic and was played at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage.

Borg was the No. 2 seed that year, Jimmy Connors was No. 1 and John McEnroe was No. 3. Not a bad field. But Borg lost his first-round match to an American named Bruce Manson 6-7, 7-5, 6-2. If you look up Bruce Manson on Wikipedia, the first sentence in his entry is that he once beat Bjorn Borg.

"Yeah, I didn't do that well. All I remember is it was a bad experience because I lost in the first round," Borg said. "But how they built up at this tournament since then is unbelievable. Everybody says it's the fifth grand slam and it should be. It's enormous, but during that time it was just the start."

The 11-time Grand Slam champion jumped back into the world of Fila in 2018 as the company's official Global Brand Ambassador.

"I enjoy being involved with tennis. I mean what can I say, I love the sport even if I stepped away kind of young," Borg said. "About five or six years ago, Fila asked me if I wanted to do some things with them and I said 'Of course.' I wanted to be part of the family again that has been so close to my heart."

Borg is back in the desert this week to watch the world's best tennis players in action and to help Fila celebrate the 50th anniversary of its relationship with tennis which began in 1973.

At the Fila tent on-site at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, you can find a mini exhibition of the company's iconic tennis fashion over the years with some items plucked from the Fila museum in Biella, Italy such as early sketches and fabric swatches from primary designer Pierluigi Rolando as well as a display of some of the styles worn by their tennis players over the years from Borg to Kim Clijsters to John Isner.

Lauren Mallon, the senior director of marketing for tennis and pickleball with Fila, said the company actually originated in 1911, but got into the tennis business in 1973. When Borg signed on, everything took off.

"In 1975 we signed who has since become such an icon, and the Fila looks he wore on court are still iconic to this day," Mallon said inside the Fila tent bustling with shoppers. "It's really amazing to see people and customers on-site at the BNP Paribas Open even today wearing that striped shirt that he made so famous, and the jacket as well. It's really Borg and that look from the 1970s that is synonymous with our brand, and we've been creating trends ever since."

As the company celebrated 50 years, they are also looking ahead to the next 50 years with some community outreach to stoke the interest of future tennis players. They donated 200 tickets to Coachella Valley high schools to attend the event. On Monday, they hosted Gerald Ford Elementary as about 100 kids visited the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for a clinic and a meet and greet with tennis greats John Isner and Reilly Opelka.

Fila will also be the title sponsor of the first amateur event at the BNP Paribas Open, the Fila International Junior Championships. That tournament begins Monday.

Palm Springs High School was one of the desert teams to take advantage of the tickets as about eight boys and girls attended the Friday night session, watching one of the best players in the world, Maria Sakkari of Greece, go against American Shelby Rogers.

"With tennis it's always a learning sport and it was a huge learning experience and it was also empowering because my name is also Maria so when people were cheering for her it was like they were cheering for me," said Maria Merels, a junior on the tennis team. "Being here for the first time definitely fueled my competitive nature for next season."

Jam Nasr, a member of the Indians' boys' team which actually had a match earlier in the day, said it's remarkable to see the skill of the pros.

"When I watch I try to emulate their game and try to pay attention to their technique and the speed at which they're playing," said Nasr, a senior at Palm Springs High. "I'll see the way they do a stroke, and I'll be thinking about it at practice like I should try and do it like that ... and I usually don't end up doing it right, but I like to try."

As far as the future of professional tennis goes, Borg believes it's in good hands. He's excited about this next generation of young talent, many of whom are on display this week in Indian Wells.

"We can't forget about Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray of course, but this new generation has so many good players, and I say that all the time and I tell the media it's important to promote these guys," Borg said. "I like Alcaraz, Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Rublev, Sinner, so many guys who play great tennis. ... Did you notice I only said European players? Ha! I like to stick up for my guys, nothing against Taylor Fritz and all the Americans.

"The future of tennis is in good hands. I don't even want to say the future. Tennis is in good hands now and will continue to be."

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Bjorn Borg and Fila enjoy a 50-year union of tennis and style