Becker is often credited as the pioneer of power tennis with his fast serve and all-court game.[2] He is among the top ten players with the best win percentages in theOpen Era.[3] In1989, he was voted the Player of the Year by both the ATP and theITF. He holds a win percentage of 92.70% in Davis Cup singles rubbers, a win loss record of 38–3 and two championships for Germany.[4] In his autobiography,Andre Agassi described Becker as the world's most popular tennis star in the late 1980s. Becker was featured at number 18 in the list ofTennis magazine's 40 greatest players of all time in 2006.[5][6][7][8]
After his playing career ended, Becker became a tennis commentator and media personality, and his personal relationships were discussed in news outlets. He has engaged in numerous ventures, including coachingNovak Djokovic for three years, playingpoker professionally, and working for an online poker company.[9] In October 2002, the Munich District Court gave Becker a suspended two-year prison sentence for tax evasion. He declaredbankruptcy in the UK in 2017. In April 2022, he was sentenced by UK courts to two and a half years in prison for hiding assets and loans that the court required him to disclose to creditors and the bankruptcy trustee. On 15 December 2022, he was released from prison early, having served eight months, and was deported to Germany by UK authorities.[10][11][12]
Becker with his mother Elvira at the Radio Regenbogen Awards, 2019
Boris Becker was born in 1967 inLeimen, a town in the German state ofBaden-Württemberg, the son of Elvira and Karl-Heinz Becker. Named after the Russian poet and novelistBoris Pasternak,[13] young Becker was raised Catholic.[14][15] His father Karl-Heinz, an architect, founded a tennis centre inLeimen, where Becker learned to play tennis. He received his secondary education atHelmholtz-Gymnasium inHeidelberg.[16] HisSudeten German mother Elvira Becker, née Pisch was from theMoravian village of Kunewald (Kunín).
In 1974, Becker joined TC Blau-Weiß Leimen tennis club and began training under Boris Breskvar. By 1977, he was a member of the junior team of the Baden Tennis Association. He went on to win the South German championship and the first German Youth Tennis Tournament.
In 1977, he was chosen for theGerman Tennis Federation's top junior team by Richard Schönborn. According to Schönborn, the funding for Becker's training was put up by the German Tennis Federation at an expense of over 1.3 million DM.[17] In 1981, he was included in the Federation's first men's team. In 1982, he won the doubles at the Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships.
Becker turned professional in 1984, under the guidance of Romanian-born coach Günther Bosch and Romanian managerIon Ţiriac, and won his first professional doubles title that year inMunich. As a teenager, Becker won the Tennis World Young Masters at the NEC in Birmingham in 1985, before taking his first top-level singles title in June that year atQueen's Club.[18] Two weeks later, on 7 July, he became the firstunseeded player and the first German to win theWimbledon singles title, defeatingKevin Curren in four sets. Becker was at that time ranked 20th in ATP ranking,[19] and was unseeded, as at that time Wimbledon did not seed players beyond the top 16. He was the youngest ever maleGrand Slam singles champion at 17 years, 227 days (a record later broken byMichael Chang in 1989, who won the French Open when he was 17 years, 110 days). Two months after his triumph, Becker became the youngest winner of theCincinnati Open. Becker has since said that "the plan from my parents for me was to finish school, go to university, get a proper degree and learn something respectful. The last thing on everyone's mind was me becoming a tennis professional."[20]
In 1986, Becker successfully defended his Wimbledon title, defeating No. 1Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the final. In 1987 Becker, then ranked 2, lost in the second round of Wimbledon toPeter Doohan, ranked 70. In theDavis Cup that year, Becker andJohn McEnroe playedone of the longest matches in tennis history. Becker won 4–6, 15–13, 8–10, 6–2, 6–2 (at that time, there were no tiebreaks in the Davis Cup). The match lasted 6 hours and 22 minutes.
Becker contested the Wimbledon final in 1988, where he lost in four sets toStefan Edberg in a match that marked the start of one of Wimbledon's great rivalries. Becker also helped West Germany win its first Davis Cup in 1988. He won the year-endMasters title in New York City, defeating five-time champion Lendl in the final. The same year he also won season endingWCT Finals for the rivalWorld Championship Tennis tour, defeating Edberg in four sets.
In 1990, Becker met Edberg for the third consecutive year in the Wimbledon final, but this time lost in a long five-set match. He failed to successfully defend his US Open title, losing to Agassi in the semifinals. Becker reached the final of the Australian Open for the first time in his career in 1991, where he defeated Lendl to claim the No. 1 ranking. Another loss to Agassi in the French Open semifinals kept him from winning the first twoGrand Slam tournaments of the year. He was ranked No. 1 for 12 weeks during 1991 and reached his fourth consecutive Wimbledon final. However, he lost in straight sets to fellow German and No. 7Michael Stich. Becker and Stich developed a fierce rivalry, but teamed up in 1992 to win the men's doubles gold medal at theOlympic Games in Barcelona.
By 1993, issues back home over his courtship of and marriage toBarbara Feltus, whose mother was German and father was African-American, and tax problems with the German government, had caused Becker to slide into a mid-career decline.
By 1995 Becker had been in continual decline for half a decade due to losing interest in tennis and off-court reasons.[citation needed] That year he reached the Wimbledon final for the seventh time, defeating Agassi in the semifinals. In the final, however, Becker, further fatigued after gruelling baseline contests withCédric Pioline and then with Agassi, lost in four sets toPete Sampras. He won the year-endATP Tour World Championships for the third and last time in Frankfurt with a straight-set win overMichael Chang in the final. Becker's sixth and final Grand Slam title came in 1996 when he defeated Chang in the final of the Australian Open. After winning theQueen's Club Championships for the fourth time, Becker was widely expected to mount a serious challenge for the Wimbledon title in 1996, but his bid ended abruptly when he damaged his right wrist during a third-round match againstNeville Godwin and was forced to withdraw.
Becker in 1994
Becker defeated Sampras in October 1996 in a five-set final inStuttgart Masters. "Becker is the best indoor player I've ever played", said Sampras after the match.[23] Becker lost to Sampras in the final of the 1996 ATP Tour World Championships inHanover. Becker saved two match points in the fourth set and held serve 27 consecutive times until he was broken in the penultimate game. Later that year he won the Grand Slam Cup defeating Goran Ivanišević in the final. In 1997, Becker lost to Sampras in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. After that match, he vowed that he would never play at Wimbledon again. However, Becker played Wimbledon one more time in 1999, this time losing in the fourth round toPatrick Rafter.[24]
Becker was most comfortable playing on fast-playing surfaces, particularly grass courts and indoor carpet (on which he won 26 titles). He reached a few finals playing on clay courts, but never won a single's final there. Becker won an Olympic Gold Medal on clay court in doubles competition alongside compatriotMichael Stich at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Becker was close to winning a single's clay-court tournament in his last final on the surface, when he ledThomas Muster by two sets to love in the1995 Monte Carlo Open final, and double-faulted on set point in the fourth-set tiebreaker.[25][26]
Over the course of his career, Becker won 49 singles titles and 15 doubles titles. Besides his six Grand Slam titles, he was also a singles winner in the year-endMasters / ATP Tour World Championships in 1988, 1992, and 1995, theWCT Finals in 1988 and at theGrand Slam Cup in 1996. He won a record-equalling four singles titles at London's Queen's Club. InDavis Cup, his career win–loss record was 54–12, including 38–3 in singles. He also won the other two major international team titles playing for Germany, theHopman Cup (in 1995) and theWorld Team Cup (in 1989 and 1998). He is the first male player to appear in 7 Wimbledon finals in the Modern Era, tied with Sampras and Djokovic, and behind the record 12 Wimbledon finals appearances by Federer.
Becker won singles titles in 14 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States. In 2003, he was inducted into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame. He occasionally plays on the senior tour and inWorld Team Tennis. After his career, he also took part in exhibition matches asMichael Stich and in 2005 they answered questions from thejournalist andradio presenter Marc Engelhard about the state of tennis.[27]He has also worked as a commentator at Wimbledon for theBBC.[28][29]
Becker's game was based on a fast and well-placedserve, that earned him the nicknames "Boom Boom",[30] "Der Bomber" and "Baron von Slam", and great volleying skills at the net. He could supplement his pure serve-and-volley game with brilliant athleticism at the net, which included the diving volley that was considered a trademark of the young German, and which endeared him to his fans. The signature dives and rolls were never seen before Becker came to the scene, and the 'Becker dive' and 'Becker roll' became crowd pullers wherever Becker played. His heavy forehand and return of serve were also very significant factors in his game.
Becker occasionally deviated from his serve-and-volley style to try to out-hit, from the baseline, opponents who normally were at their best while remaining near the baseline. Even though Becker possessed powerful shots from both wings, this strategy was often criticized by commentators.
Becker had frequent emotional outbursts on court. Whenever he considered himself to be playing badly, he often swore at himself and occasionally smashed his rackets. In 1987, he was fined $2000 following a series of outbursts during the Australian Open in Melbourne, including breaking three rackets, "twice throwing the ball in an offensive manner at the umpire, hitting the umpire's chair on one occasion, spitting water in the direction of the umpire, and hitting three balls out of the court."[31][32] Becker's highly dramatic play spawned new expressions such as theBecker Blocker (his trademark early return shot), theBecker Hecht (a flying lunge), theBecker Faust ("Becker Fist"), theBecker Shuffle (the dance he sometimes performed after making important points), andBecker Säge ("Becker Saw" – referring to the way in which he pumped his fists in a sawing motion).
Becker, one of the most effective players in his era ongrass courts andcarpet courts, had less success onclay. He never won a top-level singles title on clay, coming closest when holding two match points againstThomas Muster in the final of the 1995Monte Carlo Open. Becker did, however, team up withMichael Stich to win the 1992 men's doubles Olympic gold medal on clay.
In 2012, Becker described his approach to retirement. "I had won so much by 22, a number of Wimbledon titles, US Open, Davis Cup, World number one. You look for the next big thing and that isn't in tennis."[20]
Becker was found guilty by the Munich District Court of deliberately making false statements regarding his place of residence on his personalincome tax filings in order to saveDM3.3 million.[36]
A criminal investigation into his tax affairs began in December 1996 while he was still an active professional tennis player. By the time German prosecutors filed charges oftax evasion against the tennis star in July 2002, Becker had already retired from the sport.[37] The retired tennis player, who had earned overUS$25 million in prize money plus millions in endorsements, was originally charged with withholding taxes of DM10.4 million (US$5 million), however, the trial ended up being for the considerably lower sum of DM3.3 million (€1.6 million) for which prosecutors believed they had evidence.[38] Throughout late summer and early fall 2002, leading up to the publicized trial that was to focus on where Becker lived between 1991 and 1993 (his tax filings claimed Monaco while the prosecution had evidence of the player in fact spending the majority of that time in the Munich area), most observers predicted the star would make a deal with the Munich public prosecutor's office—admitting guilt in exchange for a lighter sentence.[37]
As predicted, at his day in court on 23 October 2002, 34-year-old Becker admitted to living inMunich between 1991 and 1993 despite being officially registered inMonaco,[39][38] however, maintaining he could not be accused of withholding income or engaging in criminal machinations.[40] At the same time, as part of his defence, Becker emphasized that his property where he stayed in Munich was not a standard apartment but a "spartan flat with just a bed and norefrigerator" being part of his sister's property where he stayed when visiting her.[40][38] It also came out that he had been warned against purchasing the Munich apartment, but ignored the warnings. The player also told the court that the financial investigations that had begun in December 1996 played a role in his decision to retire from tennis due to "countless raids of [his] house and office" and that he "hasn't won any tournaments since then and ended [his] career".[38]
Simultaneously with Becker's testimony, his lawyer presented the court with evidence that a week prior to his court date, Becker had paid around €3 million in back taxes, far exceeding the DM3.3 million (€1.6 million) amount he was in the dock for.[38][41] Despite the admission, as well as the payment, both seen as part of an attempt to settle the six-year process with a lighter sentence, the prosecution still asked the court for a sentence of three years and six months in jail.[38][42]
One day later, on 24 October 2002, in a courtroom with public gallery packed with Becker's fans, the Munich District Court judge Huberta Knöringer gave Becker a two-year prison sentence, the execution of which wassuspended.[41][43] Additionally, his sentence included a fine of €300,000 and another €200,000 to various charitable institutions.[44][41]
Since 2000, Becker has been the principal owner of the tennis division ofVölkl Inc.,[45] a tennis racket and clothing manufacturer.
Also in 2000, Becker partnered up with the German IT company Pixelpark AG for a jointdot-com investment: Sportgate.de, a German-language website covering local, regional and national sporting scene in Germany. The venture shut down during summer 2001, less than a year into its operation, amid reports of Becker's business partner, Pixelpark's CEO Paulus Neef who owned a 35% stake in Sportgate, failing to come up with a promised £1m cash injection.[46] Paulus countered with a lawsuit against Becker in the Munich regional court for feeling "conned".[37]
Becker's autobiography,Augenblick, verweile doch... (en:The Player) was published in 2003. Its release made global headlines due to the tennis star's divulgence of details surrounding his publicized divorce from Barbara Feltus, including an account of his 1999 sexual encounter with the Russian waitress Angela Ermakova that triggered the eventual end of his marriage to Feltus.[47] Other personal disclosures in the book include revelations of addiction to painkillers and sleeping pills early into his tennis playing career as well as admission about promiscuity and excessive alcoholic intake as a way of coping with loneliness while on the road.[13][48] The book madeThe Sunday Timesbestseller list.
In May 2009, Becker announced the launch of online media platformBoris Becker TV. The website, in English and German, features clips from his career and footage of his daily life.[49]
In 2002, Becker became a commentator for the BBC at Wimbledon—a job he continued doing for the following two decades (apart from the2014,2015, and2016 seasons when he coachedNovak Djokovic). He moved to the United Kingdom from his native Germany in 2012, making London his primary residence.[50]
During BBC's coverage of the2022 Wimbledon, which the German was absent from due to his incarceration over financial transgressions, imprisoned Becker received on-air messages of support from former broadcasting colleaguesAndrew Castle,John McEnroe, andSue Barker.[51][52]
From October 2005 to June 2006, the German was a team captain on theBritish TV sportsquiz showThey Think It's All Over onBBC One. He furthermore appeared on the second episode of series 16 of theBBC's car showTop Gear as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.[53]
From 2017, as Becker was getting back into tennis punditry on television following a 3-year stint coaching Djokovic, the German began appearing onEurosport regularly as part of its English-language Grand Slam coverage, often alongside the network's other retired-tennis-players-turned-TV-personalities such asMats Wilander andBarbara Schett or on his own German-language commentary showMatchball Becker alongside commentatorMatthias Stach [de].
In May 2022, shortly after Becker's sentencing to 30 months in jail and initial detention atHM Prison Wandsworth, Eurosport reportedly explored the possibility of setting up a home studio in his prison thus potentially allowing him to participate on the network'sFrench Open coverage.[54] Nothing came of it, however, and Eurosport eventually replaced Becker withMischa Zverev while simultaneously renaming theMatchball Becker programme toMatchball.[55]
Weeks after Becker's mid December 2022 release from UK jail and deportation to Germany, Eurosport announced his re-hiring ahead of their2023 Australian Open coverage.[56]
Becker is a notedpoker player and has appeared in theEuropean Poker Tour and theWorld Poker Tour;[60] by 2013 he had won more than €90,000 in career earnings from poker.[60] From November 2007 to mid-May 2013, Becker was a member of the celebrity team for the online poker platformPokerStars,[61] where he participated in professional poker tournaments.[62] Becker made his first appearance as a poker amateur at a tournament inMonte Carlo in April 2008. In mid-April, he entered the Main Event of the World Poker Tour at the Bellagio and finished the tournament in 40th place, winning more than $40,000 in prize money.[63]
In August 2011, he came 97th at the European Poker Tour in Barcelona, winning €8,000.[64] In April 2013 he again took part in the EPT Main Event, this time in Berlin, coming 49th with a win of €15,000.[65] As of August 2018, Becker has made tournament earnings of over $100,000 and was ranked 132,133rd in theGlobal Poker Index.[66] He has become an ambassador for thepartypoker online poker platform, playing under the nickname Boris__Becker.[67]
In December 2013,Novak Djokovic announced on his website that Boris Becker would become his head coach for the 2014 season.[68] As a result, Becker gave up his commentating job with the BBC.[69] In December 2016, Djokovic and Becker parted ways. Over the three seasons they worked together, Becker contributed to Djokovic's six Grand Slam titles and 14 Masters 1000 titles. Djokovic also won theFrench Open in 2016 – the only Grand Slam singles title which Becker never won himself.
On 21 June 2017, Becker was declaredbankrupt by theBankruptcy and Companies Court in London.[70][71] The order arose when a 2015 debt—centered around an unpaid loan on Becker's estate in Mallorca, Spain—owed to private bankArbuthnot Latham for nearly $14 million[72] was not paid in full before an assigned deadline, and there was no realistic expectation that it would be paid.[73][74] Becker denied to theNeue Zürcher Zeitung that he was "broke" or that he owed former business adviser Hans-Dieter Cleven any money; Cleven filed suit in a Swiss court claiming he was owed $41 million.[75]
In June 2018, Becker's lawyers claimed their client haddiplomatic immunity in the bankruptcy case owing to his appointment as theCentral African Republic's (CAR) "Attaché for Sports/Humanitarian/Cultural Affairs in the European Union".[76]Charles-Armel Doubane, the CAR'sForeign Minister, countered that Becker was "not an official diplomat for the Central African Republic", that the role ofattaché for sports "does not exist", and that the CAR passport produced by Becker was one of a batch that had been stolen in 2014.[77] In September 2019, the German businessman Stephan Welk who provided the passport was detained for possible fraud.[78]
On 21 May 2019,Smith & Williamson[clarification needed] announced that it had instructed its agent Wyles Hardy to auction Becker's trophies and memorabilia on 11 July 2019.[79] On 24 June 2019, it was reported that Becker was forced to auction off 82 collectables from his personal collection, including aGoldene Kamera award and his trophy from the1989 US Open, in order to pay creditors.[80] On 11 July 2019, an online auction of Becker's memorabilia was held, raising £687,000, according to the company dealing with his bankruptcy.[81]
On 5 November 2019, the bankruptcy restrictions were extended for an additional 12 years, until 16 October 2031, after Becker was judged to have been hiding assets and transactions worth over £4.5 million.[82]
Becker was charged with illegally failing to hand over assets and trophies with a value of £2.5 million to repay debt during his bankruptcy, and on 21 March 2022, his trial began atSouthwark Crown Court, London.[83][84] On 8 April 2022, Becker was found guilty of four charges under theInsolvency Act.[85] On 29 April 2022, he was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment for the offences.[86][87] His incarceration commenced atHM Prison Wandsworth in South London, before he was transferred toHM Prison Huntercombe, a facility used to detain foreign criminals.[88] Becker was released from prison on 15 December 2022 having served 8 months. The same day he was understood to have been deported to Germany; he was eligible for automatic deportation having received a custodial sentence of more than 12 months.[10] There are conflicting reports about his future eligibility to enter the UK, with some saying that he would be able to return to the UK in October 2024 at the earliest,[89][90] and others that he is barred from entering the country for ten years.[91][92]
The Guardian reported in 2009 that in addition to properties inMunich,Monaco, andSchwyz, Becker had an apartment inWimbledon, and possibly still maintained a residence inMiami, to be near his children.[94] As of 2017, Becker lived in Wimbledon, within walking distance of the championship grounds.[95]
After a relationship from 1988 to 1991 with Karen Schultz, and from 1991 to 1992 with Cassandra Hepburn, he began a relationship withBarbara Feltus, whom he married on 17 December 1993,[96] when she was eight months pregnant, at the registry office of his hometown of Leimen.[citation needed] Before the marriage, they shocked some in Germany by posing nude for the cover ofStern in a picture taken by her father.[97]
In January 1994 their son was born. Their second child was born in September 1999.[98]
After Becker asked Barbara for a separation in December 2000, she flew toMiami, Florida, U.S.A., with Noah and Elias and filed a divorce petition inMiami-Dade County Court, sidestepping theirprenuptial agreement which had entitled her to a single $2.5 million payoff. Barbara left for Florida after being contacted by a woman claiming to be pregnant with Becker's child. In his autobiography, Becker stated that he admitted to his wife that he had had a one-night stand with another woman while Barbara was pregnant with their second child. He wrote that Barbara struck him during an argument after he flew to Florida to meet her and discuss the break up of their marriage. The pretrial hearing in January 2001 was broadcast live to Germany. The couple had dinner together every night during the hearing.[99] Becker was granted a divorce on 15 January 2001: Barbara received a $14.4 million settlement, theircondominium onFisher Island, Florida, and custody of their children.[100]
In February 2001, Becker acknowledged paternity of a daughter,Anna Ermakova [de], with a Russian waitress at London's Nobu restaurant, Angela Ermakova, after media reported that he had a child as a result of a sexual encounter in 1999.[101][102] Becker initially denied paternity, claiming he only had oral sex with Ermakova. His lawyers made allegations that Ermakova hadstolen his sperm and used it to inseminate herself after the encounter.[103] Subsequently, he reversed his stance and accepted fatherhood. Some time after that, aDNA test confirmed he was the father.[101] In November 2007, he obtained joint custody of Anna after expressing concerns over how Ermakova was raising her.[104]
Becker was briefly engaged toAlessandra Meyer-Wölden [de] in 2008. Her father, Axel Meyer-Wölden, was Becker's former adviser and manager.[105] The couple broke up in November 2008.[106]
Becker with Lilian de Carvalho in 2024
In February 2009, Becker announced on the German TV showWetten, dass..?, that he and Dutch model Sharlely "Lilly" Kerssenberg were to be married.[107] The wedding took place on 12 June 2009 in St. Moritz, Switzerland.[108] In August, they announced that they were expecting a child.[109] Their son, Amadeus Benedict Edley Luis Becker, was born in London on 10 February 2010.[110]
In May 2018, Kerssenberg and Becker announced that they had separated after nine years of marriage.[108][111] The announcement was followed by multiple divorce and family court hearings throughout the remainder of 2018 amid the separated spouses each accusing the other of "unreasonable behaviour" and both issuing divorce petitions.[112][113] As of Becker's 2022 prison sentencing over financial transgressions, over four years since their separation, theestranged couple were still not legally divorced.[114] Following Becker's release from prison, in a February 2023 interview for theBild newspaper, Becker's estranged wife Kerssenberg accused the retired tennis player of not payingchild support for their 13-year-old son.[115]
In July 2019, reports appeared that Becker was dating British model Layla Powell.[116] At the time of his 2022 conviction, he was in a relationship with Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro.[117] Eventually the couple married on 14 September 2024.[118]
^abKirkpatrick, Curry (1989)."BECKER THE YANKEE WRECKER".Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com.Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved5 February 2024.
^Philippsen, Petra (9 July 2017)."Zuflucht im Traumland".Der Tagesspiegel Online.Archived from the original on 23 March 2020. Retrieved9 September 2020.
