The outburst of Boris Becker, one of the greatest tennis players in the world, about his time spent in prison
Six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker spent eight months in prison
German tennis player Boris Becker, 55 years old, won six Grand Slams throughout his professional life, as the most important tennis tournaments in the world are called. But, he spent the last few months away from glory, in jail.
He served eight months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence for hiding £2.5 million worth of property and loans from British tax authorities to avoid paying debts. He was released in December and then deported from the UK, where he lived.
“I tend to be good in the fifth set. I won the first two sets, lost the other two and plan to win the fifth”, he said in an interview with the BBC, making an analogy to a tennis match.
The award-winning tennis player classified the period he spent in jail as “brutal” and an experience “very different from that shown in movies”.
'Whoever says prison isn't hard is lying'
Becker was catapulted to fame in 1985 when he won Wimbledon at just 17 years old. In April last year, he was convicted in the United Kingdom, where he resided, for failing to comply with the Insolvency Act.
The case focused on Becker's bankruptcy in June 2017, resulting from an unpaid loan of more than £3 million (R$ 18.8 million) to buy his luxury property in Majorca, Spain.
Speaking ahead of the release of a new TV documentary about his life and career, 'Boom! Bang! The World vs Boris Becker' (Boom! Bang! The world vs Boris Becker) Becker said: "I don't think there was a manual written on how to behave, what to do and how to live your life when you win Wimbledon at 17" .
“The fame, the fortune, it was all very new,” he said.
“Obviously I never studied business and finance and after my tennis career I made some decisions based on bad advice, but they were my decisions.”
After his conviction, Becker spent his first few weeks in Wandsworth Jail, in south-east London, before spending most of his sentence in Huntercombe Jail, in Oxfordshire, also in the UK.
"Anyone who says prison life isn't difficult is lying," said the three-time Wimbledon champion.
“I was surrounded by murderers, drug dealers, rapists, dangerous criminals.”
According to Becker, in prison "you fight every day to survive". “You need to surround yourself with the tough guys, because you need protection.”
Becker said being a legendary tennis champion didn't do him any favors in prison. “If you think you're better than everyone else, you lose.”
“In there it didn't matter that I was a tennis player. The only currency you have is your personality and your character, nothing else.”
“You don't have any friends at first, you're alone. And that's the hard part. You really need to dig into yourself your qualities and strengths, but also your weaknesses.”
Boris Becker aged 17 when he won Wimbledon for the first time
'I miss London'
After being released from jail, Becker was deported to Germany and will not be able to return to British soil until October 2024.
“I miss London a lot. I miss Wimbledon and I won't be able to go (to the tournament) this year,” she said.
“When you're down… And the last five, six years have been really tough for me… You find out who's really into you and who's not.”
When asked how he is being treated by people after leaving prison, he said: “Nobody is perfect, including me. And I accepted all of that.”
“I got out of prison three and a half months ago and I am thrilled with the reception from the fans, from the people on the street who followed a little of my story.”
'I'm a stronger, better man'
Becker says he learned valuable lessons from his time in jail. “I never thought at 17 that I would be arrested at 54,” he said.
“It certainly made me more humble. Today I know that regardless of whether you are Boris Becker, if you break the law, you will be convicted and imprisoned and that goes for everyone.”
"I never expected good and I certainly didn't expect bad, but I'm a survivor, I'm a tough nut to crack, I took the penalties, I took the prison, but I also took the glory, and at the very least it made me a stronger man and better. With my decisions in the future, you will be able to see whether I learned from this or not."
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