Boris Becker may have earned multiple laurels on the court, being a six-time slam champion, but the former German icon’s life beyond tennis has been anything but a smooth ride. The former World No.1, who hung up his racket in 1999, had to go through his toughest phase yet three years ago. He served a prison sentence in the United Kingdom after he was found guilty of tax evasion of £2.5 million worth of assets. While he’s no longer living through that forgettable phase, the German pro still remembers that time vividly. His survival alongside the most dangerous individuals has become a story worth telling, especially when one of them posed a serious threat to his life!

Becker was jailed for a duration of two-and-a-half-years in April 2022. However, he was released later that same year. He was deported to Germany and wasn’t allowed entry to the United Kingdom until October 2024. He might be a free man now, but that wasn’t the case at all during his stay in the Huntercombe prison, located near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. During his interaction with the Daily Mail, while discussing his book ‘Inside: Winning. Losing. Starting Again’, Becker didn’t hold back. He recalled the most sending-chills-down-your-spine incident that he experienced in that prison.

As revealed in his book, this tale is of one fellow prisoner known as Zac, who was really furious at the ex-German ATP pro. As narrated by Becker, “One day, I was coming back from lunch with my tray of food.” It seems Becker had a good rapport with another prisoner who goes by the name Ike. He continued, “As I passed Ike’s cell, Zac was in there.” Becker found this odd and called him out. “‘Hey. What are you doing in Ike’s cell?’ I said. He came straight at me. ‘Who the f— are you? I’m going to f— you up. I’m going to break your head.” The slurry of threats to Becker continued, “I’m going to slit your throat. I’m going to kill you.”

Fellow prisoners had to intervene to save Becker. Fortunately for the ex-ATP pro, he received backing from Ike, who stood by him. The latter was a respectable figure in the prison. So much so that even Zac, the inmate who initially threatened Becker, had to apologize to him. “He started kissing my hand and saying sorry,” Becker explained. “He wasn’t just apologizing to me but to Ike, who was the boss on our wing.”

Another similar instance took place after a deadly game of poker. Outcome? “I was told that I owed them £500,” he revealed. “It was a shock. That would have been nothing to me on the outside. But inside it was a lot of money, your weekly allowance for about eight months.” When he failed to cough up the money, the repercussions weren’t pleasant. “When I didn’t pay up, I could feel them staring at me, circling around me. Then, one afternoon, two of them came to my cell. A simple message: when are you going to pay?”

To settle the matter, he had to actually arrange a bank transfer. He was cautioned that the gang’s leader was “a little crazy”. But more than anything, he was shocked to know that the prison was actually run by inmates themselves instead of the prison and probation services, a government body that undertakes operations within prisons.

While recounting these bitter incidents, Becker had more to reveal about his prison experience. Especially when it comes to the very reason behind it, which happens to also be the most bizarre blame, ever.

Boris Becker attributes his Wimbledon win to his misgivings

Boris Becker reveals the downsides of his successful tennis career, about how sudden money and fame became his detriment. Especially at the early age of 17 when he clinched the grass major title. He feels that his “1985 Wimbledon victory is partly to blame” for his time in prison.

With much introspection, he wrote, “When you’re suddenly so famous at 17, it feels like you suddenly belong to someone else. The German press told me how I should live and what I should do.” At 17 years, 7 months, and 15 days old, he was the youngest male player ever to win the Gentlemen’s trophy back in the day.

After the victory, a young Becker said, “It was my first Wimbledon win and I hope it will not be my last.” Describing the Centre Court, he mentioned it as “a mixture of the French Open and Wimbledon – clay in the middle and grass on the outside.” After learning that he won £130,000 for his epic triumph, his reaction was: “That is a lot.” He later said, “Perhaps my victory will change the position of tennis in Germany because we have never before had an idol in this sport.” It changed his life topsy turvy – but for the worse.

That famous triumph is now shrouded in a negative light. Boris Becker wrote, “If I hadn’t won Wimbledon at 17, none of this would have happened. Then I wouldn’t have had this trust in older men to handle my business, nor the habit of letting others manage my finances.”

For Boris Becker, life has been too harsh, especially his experiences in recent years. The very sport that he once adored somehow became the causal root of his personal setbacks. Despite being a free man, Becker admits that he may never be able to see life through a normal lens again.