Tennis icon Bjorn Borg, 69, 'reveals secret cancer diagnosis' in autobiography

Five-time Wimbledon winner Bjorn Borg reveals that he's been battling cancer in his soon-to-be-released autobiography, according to reports in Sweden and Italy.

The book, titled Heartbeat, will be officially released on September 18 but has been made available early for Amazon users in Italy.

The contents of the autobiography, which Borg, 69, has written along with his wife Patricia, had so far been kept a secret but its early release has revealed his surprising cancer diagnosis.

The Swedish tennis icon is now expected to embark on an 'extremely sparing' press run soon in which he will likely open up further on his battle against the illness.

The memoir is set to be released in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Latin America, the Netherlands and Italy and Sweden.

It remains unclear what type of cancer Borg was suffering from and whether or not he's made a full recovery.

Bjorn Borg, 69, reveals he's been battling cancer in his new autobiography Heartless

The Swede is one of the greatest tennis players of all time, winning 11 Grand Slam titles before his retirement at the age of just 26

In a career which spanned just a decade due to his surprising retirement from the game aged 26, Borg cemented himself in the history of tennis as one of its greatest players.

A 'rock star' of the sport - as he put it himself - Borg became the youngest major champion in tennis history when he won the French Open in 1974 at the age of just 18.

It was the first of six championships in Paris for Borg, who scooped four in a row from 1978 to 1981.

Two summers after his triumph in France, the Swedish superstar scooped his first trophy at Wimbledon.

Such was his performance in his maiden south-west London final that his opponent Ilie Nastate, who Borg beat 6-4, 6-2, 9-7, said about him afterwards: 'We're playing tennis, and he's playing something else.'

Then came a further four consecutive Wimbledon titles for Borg, his last against John McEnroe, who was playing in his first ever Wimbledon final.

The iconic American tennis player said afterwards: 'There's magic when our names are mentioned together, we brought tennis to a place it wasn't at before. It's a match I will remember for the rest of of my life.'

A year later as Borg went for six in a row, it was McEnroe who defeated him in what was the last high-point in the Swede's career.

He retired a year later at the age of just 26 after a decade on tour, and a thoroughly entertaining decade at that.

Borg sits sixth in the list of all-time Grand Slam winners to this day, behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadel, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and Roy Emerson.

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