Shamed Boris Becker's tough life after jail from bankruptcy to death threats

06 February 2024 , 19:50

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Ex-BBC tennis pundit Boris Becker is currently banned from returning to the UK (Image: PA)

Boris Becker was a tennis idol before he was sensationally thrown in jail for bankruptcy fraud.

After serving eight months of a two-and-a-half-year sentence, the 56-year-old former Wimbledon champ was unceremoniously deported from the country upon his release in December 2022. Tonight, a two-part documentary airs on ITV, titled Boris Becker: The Rise and Fall, and gives an insight into the German tennis superstar's dramatic fall from grace.

Becker lived in the UK between 2012 and 2022 but now lives back in his native country, Germany. At the time of his release, his lawyer said he "served his sentence and is not subject to any penal restrictions in Germany". He no longer has British citizenship and is barred from entering the UK for up to 10 years.

Boris Becker won his first of three Wimbledon titles aged 17 in 1985 (PA)

The tennis ace has made a return to tennis and is coaching Holger Rune (Instagram / @borisbeckerofficial)

Becker earned nearly £40million during his illustrious playing career, but said he ran into financial difficulties after retiring in 1999 thanks to costly divorces, child maintenance costs and his lavish lifestyle. In 2017, he was declared bankrupt due to an unpaid £3million loan of on his estate in Mallorca, Spain. At the time, he owed more than £50million to creditors.

Following the bankruptcy, the six-time Grand Slam champion handed his wedding ring over, but concealed ownership of a £1.3million home in his native Germany along with a £692,000 loan he received from a Liechtenstein bank and his shares in an artificial intelligence firm.

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Becker was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in April 2022 after being found guilty of four charges, including hiding £2.5million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts. He served eight months of his sentence in Wandsworth Prison and HMP Huntercombe before being released and deported to Germany in December 2022.

Opening up about his experience inside the UK prison system last year, he told BBC 5 Live Breakfast: "Whoever says that prison life isn't hard and isn't difficult I think is lying. I was surrounded by murderers, by drug dealers, by rapists, by people smugglers, by dangerous criminals. You fight every day for survival. Quickly you have to surround yourself with the tough boys, as I would call it, because you need protection."

He added: "Inside it doesn't matter that I was a tennis player, the only currency we have inside is our character and our personality. That's it, you have nothing else. You don't have any friends at first, you're literally on your own and that's the hard part, you have to really dig inside yourself about your qualities and your strengths but also your weaknesses."

Becker spent most of his jail time at HMP Huntercombe and received death threats from inmates

In a 2022 interview with German TV station Sat TV, he spoke about how his life was threatened twice during his prison stint. Highlighting one shocking incident, Becker said a prisoner in Wandsworth called John had said that "if I didn't do this or that he would kill me. He had tried it with others".

Becker said: "I thought I would lose my life in Wandsworth, someone - a murderer I later found out - wanted my coat and he wanted money and he said he would kill me if he didn't get it. Then in Huntercombe another murderer said they wanted to kill me, he told me what he was going to do to me unless I let him do my laundry.

"This was only very recently, in October, and when he told me, my food tray was shaking. But, in the end, the next day he fell to his knees in front of me, apologised and kissed my hand and said he respected me."

While those death threats clearly left a mark on Becker, he also explained how three people had come to his aid inside during the most testing period of his life. "Three people saved me in prison, they were James, Russell and Bill, they were listeners and they knew their way around and they also wanted to protect me," he said.

The tennis champion went on to explain how he made sure to watch his back at all times - especially in the shower, even though he had his own cubicle. "I had two big concerns, one was a double cell, sharing a cell with someone who could attack you or threaten you and then the shower cubicles," he said.

Becker was found guilty of four charges and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison

"You close the door, take your clothes off and look behind you, it's not human. You have seen the films and dropping the soap but then the governor explained to me that it would be safe, so I was grateful to him." He continued: "It's extremely full, extremely dirty, extremely dangerous, murderers, sex offers, drug deals, you meet all types."

Despite the harrowing experiences he endured during his prison sentence, the Wimbledon champ claims the time inside helped him get back to who he was before. "I think I rediscovered the person I used to be. I learned a hard lesson. A very expensive one. A very painful one," he said. "But the whole thing has something important and good for me learned. And some things happen for a good reason."

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Last summer, Becker was unable to work as a pundit for the BBC at Wimbledon following his deportation. It is not known how long it will be before Becker is allowed to return to the UK, but post-conviction travel bans can last for 10 years.

But the six-time Grand Slam champion made a return to tennis 10 months after being released from prison. In October 2023, he found employment as a coach for world No.4 Holger Rune, and is continuing this role for the 2024 season.

"I can confirm that I am Holger Rune's coach," Becker, who now lives in Italy, told Eurosport in October. "It makes me a little proud that he asked me. The contact has existed for a long time. Now it was a very good fit. My calendar allows it and I have always been interested in Holger because he is on the tennis court with so much commitment and temperament.

"Holger then invited me to a training week in Monte-Carlo. I also had a long chat there with his mother Aneke and his performance coach Lapo Becherini. The three of us are responsible for Holger from now on." Becker, who shot to stardom after winning Wimbledon for the first time at the age of 17 in 1985, previously coached Novak Djokovic between 2013 to 2016, helping the Serb win six Grand Slams.

Nia Dalton