Boris Becker is a German former tennis player who was once the youngest Wimbledon champion and one of the greatest players of all time. He went to prison in the UK in 2022 for concealing millions of pounds of assets to avoid paying debts after he had been declared bankrupt. He was released from prison in 2023 and deported back to Germany, where he is currently working as a tennis coach and a media personality. He is also facing several challenges in his personal and professional life, such as bankruptcy, death threats, and legal disputes.
Who is Boris Becker?
Boris Becker was born on 22 November 1967 in Leimen, near Heidelberg, West Germany. He started playing tennis at a young age and became a professional player in 1984. He rose to fame in 1985, when he won the Wimbledon Championships at the age of 17, becoming the youngest and the first unseeded player to do so. He went on to win five more Grand Slam singles titles, including two more Wimbledon titles, two Australian Opens, and one US Open. He also won an Olympic gold medal in doubles in 1992, 13 Masters titles, three year-end championships, and two Davis Cup titles for Germany. He was ranked world No. 1 in 1991 and was voted the Player of the Year by both the ATP and the ITF in 1989. He is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time and was featured in the list of Tennis magazine’s 40 greatest players on its 40th anniversary in 2006.
Becker’s personal life was also in the spotlight, as he had several relationships, marriages, and children with different women. He married Barbara Feltus, a German actress and model, in 1993 and had two sons with her, Noah and Elias. They divorced in 2001, after Becker admitted that he had fathered a daughter, Anna, with Angela Ermakova, a Russian model, during a brief encounter in a London hotel in 1999. He also had a daughter, Amadeus, with his second wife, Lilly Kerssenberg, a Dutch model, whom he married in 2009 and divorced in 2018. He is currently in a relationship with Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, a Brazilian model.
Reasons for Boris Becker’s Prison Sentence
Becker’s financial troubles began in 2002, when he was convicted of tax evasion in Germany and fined €500,000 and sentenced to two years’ probation. He had failed to pay taxes on about €1.7m of income that he had earned from endorsement deals and appearance fees between 1991 and 1993, while claiming to live in Monaco, a tax haven. He later admitted that he had actually lived in Munich during that period and apologized for his mistake.
Becker’s situation worsened in 2017, when he was declared bankrupt by a London court, after failing to pay a debt of £3.3m to a private bank. He claimed that he had diplomatic immunity as a sports attaché for the Central African Republic, but this was rejected by the court. He also faced claims from more than 20 creditors, who alleged that he owed them a total of £54m.
In 2020, Becker was charged with 28 counts of bankruptcy fraud, for concealing and transferring assets worth £2.5m, including properties, bank accounts, shares, and trophies, to avoid paying his creditors. He pleaded not guilty at first, but changed his plea to guilty in 2022, after reaching a deal with the prosecution. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison by a London judge, who said that he had acted dishonestly and with a lack of remorse.
Life After Prison
Becker spent 231 days in prison, first in Wandsworth prison in London, and then in Huntercombe prison near Oxford. He described his prison experience as harsh and humiliating, saying that he was treated as a nobody and a number, and that he witnessed a lot of violence. He said that he used his time in prison to reflect on his life and to rediscover his human side. He also said that he learned a hard, expensive, and painful lesson, but that it was worthwhile and that some things happen for a good reason.
Becker was released from prison in December 2023, after serving half of his sentence. He was then deported back to Germany, as he had lost his right to stay in the UK due to his conviction. He was also banned from entering the UK for 10 years. He faced several challenges after his release, such as bankruptcy, death threats, and legal disputes. He had to sell his assets, including his Wimbledon trophies, to pay off his debts. He also received death threats from a neo-Nazi group, who accused him of betraying the German race by having children with non-white women. He also had to deal with lawsuits from his ex-wives and former business partners, who claimed that he owed them money or had breached contracts.
Current Whereabouts
Despite his difficulties, Becker has tried to rebuild his life and career after prison. He is currently working as a tennis coach and a media personality. He is coaching Holger Rune, a Danish teenager who is considered one of the most promising talents in tennis. He is also a commentator and analyst for Eurosport, a sports broadcaster, and a columnist for Bild, a German newspaper. He has also made appearances on various TV shows, such as The Masked Singer, a reality singing competition, and Let’s Dance, a celebrity dance contest.
Becker has also expressed his hopes and plans for the future. He said that he wants to return to the UK someday, as he considers it his second home and has many friends and fans there. He also said that he wants to get married again and have more children, as he loves being a father and a family man. He also said that he wants to continue his involvement in tennis, as he loves the sport and wants to share his knowledge and experience with the next generation of players.
Conclusion
Boris Becker is a former tennis star who achieved great success and fame on the court, but also faced many troubles and scandals off the court. He went to prison for tax evasion and bankruptcy fraud, and lost his fortune and reputation. He was released from prison and deported back to Germany, where he is trying to start over and overcome his challenges. He is working as a tennis coach and a media personality, and has some aspirations and ambitions for the future. He is a controversial and complex figure, who has inspired admiration and criticism, sympathy and resentment, among the public and the media. He is a legend of tennis, but also a cautionary tale of fame and fortune.
