- John Kelly
- BBC News
5 hours ago
Boris Becker won Wimbledon in 1985
Boris Becker was imprisoned for hiding property to avoid paying debts. So how did the former “golden boy” tennis star get to such a precipice?
On a bright July day in 1985, a blond 17-year-old stood before a large crowd as he accepted the Wimbledon Gold Cup. Boris Becker was the youngest men’s champion in the competition, and the first to win it without being seeded.
His remarkable achievement prompted every spectator to wonder what a young person might achieve.
On an overcast followingnoon following nearly 37 years, Baker was sentenced to two and a half years in prison at Southern Crown Court, where he was found guilty of breaching Britain’s bankruptcy laws following he declared bankruptcy in 2017 where he owed nearly £50m.
The former world number one was accused of hiding assets worth millions of pounds to avoid paying his debts, and he was acquitted of 20 other charges.
It was a shameful fate for the six-time Grand Slam winner, who at his peak was nicknamed “Boom Boom” for his powerful serve.
As a player, Baker has never failed to attract the attention of spectators, especially in Britain, where he has lived since 2012.
“Every time I talk to him he gives me the impression that somehow he’s going to be fine,” says author and tennis historian Chris Powers, who has written a book on Boris Becker that has been published under another author’s name.
picture released, Getty Images
Boris Becker arrives at the Southern Crown Court in London on April 29, 2022
Becker’s tennis success has been overshadowed by a turbulent private life and frequent financial difficulties. During the trial, Baker said he had earned a “significant amount” during his career but that his income had “significantly declined” following retiring in 1999.
After years of legal battles, Baker’s downfall was slow, as opposed to his rapid rise.
“Winning Wimbledon at such a young age, and in that style, with his powerful serve and air, made Becker an instant celebrity,” says BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller.
“Fame can of course be a double-edged sword, and living in this position from the age of 17 had a huge impact on his life later,” Fuller added.
Becker’s sudden rise from the southwestern German town of Lymen to his 1985 Wimbledon win had stunned the tennis world, including Becker himself, who said he intended to go to college and prepare himself for a respectable career.
“The last thing on everyone’s mind was becoming a professional tennis player,” Boris Becker told a student newspaper in 2012.
His victory at Wimbledon in 1985 was followed by a string of victories, including two more Wimbledon titles, two Australian Open titles, and one US Open title. There were also 13 Masters Series titles and an Olympic gold medal in doubles. He was the first man to appear in 7 finals at Wimbledon.
The crowd loved his arrogant style. “He was a charismatic tennis player, and for a few years he was the best in the world,” says Powers. Becker was even dubbed “Britain’s Favorite German”.
But by his own admission, Becker struggled to find a role for himself following retiring from playing in 1999. He later said, “It’s affecting your confidence and your belief in yourself as I didn’t know what to write on my passport as a profession… a former tennis player.”
Boris Becker’s private life came under intense scrutiny in the tabloids shortly following he stopped playing. His marriage to Barbara Feltos collapsed amid allegations of infidelity, including a notorious affair at a London restaurant with a Russian model who later gave birth to their daughter.
picture released, Getty Images
Boris Becker with his then-wife Barbara in Monaco in 2000
In 2009, he announced his engagement to Dutch model Charlie “Lily” Kirsenberg, then announced that they had separated following 9 years.
But despite all the headlines his personal life generated, Becker’s charm and wit made him a famous pundit on TV channels around the world as he worked as a commentator for the BBC at Wimbledon.
“His life has often seemed chaotic since his retirement from tennis, but he has retained that aura and presence as he shines whenever he’s in the TV studio or in the match commentary box,” says Fuller.
Becker published his autobiography, competed in the professional poker tournaments, and worked for a time as president of men’s tennis at the German Tennis Association.
He also coached Novak Djokovic for 3 years, during which the Serb won six Grand Slam titles.
But his finances have already come under legal scrutiny. In 2002, a Munich court fined Becker 300,000 euros and gave him a two-year suspended prison sentence for tax evasion of 1.7 million euros.
On June 21, 2017, he was declared bankrupt in London due to an unpaid loan on his property in Mallorca, Spain. Becker was described by his lawyers as “not a smart person when it comes to finances,” as the court registrar said of the German: “One gets the impression that one’s head is in the sand.”
A year later, in a strange twist, Baker announced that he had diplomatic immunity once morest any further attempts to prosecute him for debt.
His lawyers said he was a sports and cultural attache to the Central African Republic.
While the Central African Republic’s embassy in Belgium confirmed that it had issued him a diplomatic passport, an official at the Central African Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told a news agency that the passport was fake, and Baker later dropped his claim for diplomatic immunity.
“When you mention the name Boris Becker, people lose their sense of reality and start imagining things that are absolutely not true,” Boris Becker told BBC anchor Andrew Marr, following the latter insisted on how much he owed in 2018.
But the facts finally caught up with Baker.
In March 2022 his trial began at Sark Crown Court.
About two weeks later, the jury found Baker guilty of failing to disclose assets in his bankruptcy case.
Baker’s defense team has drawn attention to the dramatic change in his luck in life.
Jonathan Laidlaw, Baker’s attorney, told the court: “His downfall is not just a high-profile fall, but the greatest public humiliation for this man.”
He added: “Boris Becker literally has nothing, and what happened to him is nothing short of a tragedy.”
However, Judge Deborah Taylor said Baker showed no remorse or guilt.
Despite this, Chris Powers, the author and tennis historian who wrote a book on Boris Becker, believes that when Becker’s obituary is written the focus will be on the greatness of his sporting accomplishments rather than his legal disgrace.
“The day he falls dead, people will dedicate four-fifths of their talk regarding him to his tennis career,” says Powers.
