London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 11, 2025

Boris Becker jailed: Tennis champion sentenced over bankruptcy

Boris Becker jailed: Tennis champion sentenced over bankruptcy

Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker has been jailed for two and a half years for hiding £2.5m worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.

Boris Becker arrived at court with his partner Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro

The 54-year-old six-time Grand Slam champion was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act.

The case centred on Becker's bankruptcy in June 2017 resulting from an unpaid loan of more than £3m on his luxury estate in Mallorca, Spain.

Judge Deborah Taylor said he had shown no remorse or acceptance of guilt.

Referring to Becker's previous conviction for tax evasion in Germany in 2002, she told the former world number one: "You did not heed the warning you were given and the chance you were given by the suspended sentence and that is a significant aggravating factor...

"You have... sought to distance yourself from your offending and your bankruptcy.

"While I accept your humiliation as part of the proceedings, there has been no humility."

Boris Becker commentated at Wimbledon for the BBC


Becker was legally obliged to disclose all of his assets so that his trustee could distribute available funds to his creditors, to whom he owed nearly £50m when he was declared bankrupt.

But earlier this month, after about two weeks hearing evidence, Southwark Crown Court jurors found Becker guilty of removal of property, two counts of failing to disclose estate and concealing debt.

They acquitted him on a further 20 charges, including nine counts of failing to hand over his tennis trophies and medals, including two from Wimbledon.

Prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley said the jury had found the Wimbledon commentator had acted "deliberately and dishonestly".

She added: "Even now, Mr Becker is still seeking to blame others when it was obviously his duty."

The jury found Becker had failed to declare his share in a sprawling £1m property in his German hometown of Leimen, and hid a bank loan of almost £700,000 on that house, as well as shares in a technology firm valued at £66,000.

He was also found to have made £390,000 worth of payments from his business account to nine others, including those of his ex-wife Barbara and estranged wife Sharlely "Lilly" Becker.

Becker's barrister Jonathan Laidlaw QC told the court the tennis star's "fall from grace" had left "his reputation in tatters".

He said: "Boris Becker has literally nothing and there is also nothing to show for what was the most glittering of sporting careers and that is correctly termed as nothing short of a tragedy.

"These proceedings have destroyed his career entirely and ruined any further prospect of earning an income."

Becker will serve half his sentence on licence.


Who is Boris Becker?


Boris Becker was the youngest man to win Wimbledon in 1985


Boris Becker was catapulted to stardom, aged 17, in 1985 when he became the youngest singles male player to win the Wimbledon Championships.

He went on to win a further two Wimbledon titles, two Australian Opens and one US Open. He also won a gold medal at the Olympics in doubles.

He retired from tennis in 1999, and has since commentated at Wimbledon for the BBC.

In 2013, Mr Becker turned his hand to coaching, working with one of the world's greatest, Novak Djokovic. In their three years together, Djokovic won six Grand Slam titles.

He was also involved in overseeing youth development and the Davis Cup team at the German Tennis Federation until stepping down in 2020.

The father-of-four has lived in London since 2012.

The German national made about £38m in earnings before retiring in 1999


Becker had told the jury his career earnings of $50m (about £38 million) were spent on an expensive divorce from his first wife in 2001, child maintenance payments, and "expensive lifestyle commitments", including his £22,000-a-month rented house in Wimbledon, south-west London.

The trial also revealed Becker's taste for designer clothes, shopping in Harrods and that he was spending thousands on his children's school fees. He said his income had "reduced dramatically" following his retirement in 1999.

The prosecution against Becker was brought by the Insolvency Service on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng.

Speaking after the sentencing, its chief executive Dean Beale said: "Boris Becker's sentence clearly demonstrates that concealing assets in bankruptcy is a serious offence for which we will prosecute and bring offenders to justice."

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller said after serving his time, the former world number one would probably rebuild his career by making a return to coaching and TV commentating.

David Law of the Tennis Podcast commented tennis fans would still hold affection for Becker.

He said: "Those memories will last, but at the same time this is hugely embarrassing for him... it's prison time and it will follow him and stay with him."


Watch: Former tennis star Boris Becker discusses his bankruptcy during a 2018 BBC interview


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
×