Tennis star Boris Becker is starting a jail term after hiding £2.5m worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.
The 54 year old, who has won a total of six Grand Slams and is believed to have earned £38m during his playing career, was handed a two and a half year jail term at Southwark Crown Court last week. His career came crashing down after crimes linked to his 2017 bankruptcy and he was found guilty of four charges of the Insolvency Act last year.
Jurors found he hid assets from trustees despite being obliged to reveal them in order to pay his debts. Despite pleas from his lawyers about the effect a jail term could have on him and his family, Judge Deborah Taylor told Becker he had shown “no humility” after being found guilty of such a serious crime and jailed him.
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In addition to the four charges of which he was found guilty, jurors also acquitted him on a further 20, including nine counts of failing to hand over his tennis trophies and medals, including two from Wimbledon. Despite Becker’s jailing, the publicity around his case has caused some fans on social media to recall a generous gesture by the tennis legend in the aftermath of the Hillsborough Disaster.
Playing for the first time in Merseyside at the defunct Wirral International tournament in June 1989, Becker won the competition and went on to donate his £25,000 prize money to the Hillsborough Disaster Fund. Speaking to reporters, Becker, who was once scouted by Bayern Munich as a young player before focusing on tennis, said his affection for Liverpool and the shock of Hillsborough, only a few months earlier, made him want to donate the money.
He told the Daily Record: “Liverpool have always been one of my favourite teams. I was shattered by what happened to the fans, I couldn’t believe it. This is my first time on Merseyside and I couldn’t think of any better way of helping than donating my prize money.”
Becker won the competition after defeating Peter Lundgren in 7-5, 6-4 in 88 minutes at the end of a tournament that saw fellow tennis stars John McEnroe and Pete Sampras play. An ECHO report from earlier on in the competition said Becker, who vowed to donate what he won no matter where he finished, was appreciated by the crowds at West Kirby.
The Wirral International’s position in the calendar, shortly before Wimbledon, made it a popular tournament for many of the world’s tennis stars for a period. Weeks after he won at Wirral, Becker would go on to win at Wimbledon that year, the last of his three wins at the tournament.
He retired two years later and continued to be heavily involved in tennis, commentating and coaching. His personal life has hit the headlines numerous times since then, including for his 2002 conviction for tax evasion in Germany and his more recent financial problems.
Becker will serve half of his jail term before being eligible for release.
