Boris Becker: ‘I’ve been treated so harshly because I’m so famous,’ tennis legend says as he lashes out at ‘brutal’ justice system
- Embarrassed tennis star talked about his time behind bars after facing two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to four counts under the Insolvency Act
- The 55-year-old filed for bankruptcy in 2017, but hid £2.5 million in assets to avoid debt
- He claims his prison sentence was due to winning Wimbledon at the young age of 17
Embarrassed German tennis legend Boris Becker has told of his time in two ‘brutal’ British prisons – but did not take responsibility for the bankruptcy fraud that put him there.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Becker said he wouldn’t have been hit so hard if my name was Peter Smith and me [hadn’t] won Wimbledon at 17′. He also blamed his advisers and even criticized jurors for being too young to understand his case.
The three-time Wimbledon champion, 55, was declared bankrupt in 2017 but hid £2.5 million in assets to avoid paying his debts. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison last April after pleading guilty to four counts under the Insolvency Act.
Becker, who has been married twice, also offered a surprising warning Prince Harry: ‘Don’t forget where you came from, because you may have to go back there. And marriages don’t always last forever, last time I checked.”
The first part of Becker’s sentence was served at London’s HMP Wandsworth, which he described as ‘as***hole’. While there, he taught math and English to other inmates, which allowed him to spend five hours a day outside his cell, which he liked because “in the cell, you die.”
Becker said he wouldn’t have been hit so hard “if my name was Peter Smith and me [hadn’t] won Wimbledon at 17′
He was later transferred to Huntercombe Prison in Oxfordshire, where he was ‘surrounded by murderers, drug dealers and people smugglers’. He added: ‘The British legal system is ruthless.’
Becker had the support of some famous friends while inside. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp wanted to visit but was blocked because the prison feared for his safety. World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic gave Becker’s girlfriend Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro free tickets to his matches.
When Becker was sentenced by London’s Southwark Crown Court, Judge Deborah Taylor said he had shown ‘no remorse’ [and] no humility’.
But speaking of his crime, Becker said, “It was naivete, it was bad advice. But it wasn’t a bad idea. Should I have better advisors? Yes. We all struggle with our taxes. And the more money you have, the more complicated it gets. The jurors… half of them were under 30. I don’t think they really understood what this case was all about.”
Becker was released from prison in December after less than eight months and deported to Germany. He now lives in Munich.