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Tennis Legends: Boris Becker - From instant superstardom to prison stint and all in between

Originally posted on TennisUpToDate.com | Last updated Aug 15, 2025 9:42 AM ET

Teenage sensations in tennis are part of the sport’s rich tapestry. The women’s game has witnessed the greater number in this regard but a select minority in the men’s game have reached the summit prior to their twenties. One such example is Boris Becker who, at just 17, stunned the world of sport when becoming the youngest ever men’s singles Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon in 1985. The German morphed into an instant superstar. He was the youngest winner of the men's title at Wimbledon, and remains the second youngest player to win a men's singles Grand Slam.

Born in Leimen, on 22nd November 1967, Becker was at the forefront of a new power era in tennis, facilitated by the change from wooden racquets to the added power of graphite ones. His nickname ‘Boom Boom’ was due to his big serve. He was an all action player, known for his diving around the net.

The success at Wimbledon was one of six Grand Slam Singles titles. He retained Wimbledon the following year, by defeating Ivan Lendl in the final. A third crown at SW19 came in 1989, besting the Swede Stefan Edberg, who had beaten him in finals on either side of that success. Later in 1989, Becker won his solitary US Open and would add two further Slams in the 1990s at the Australian Open (91 and 96).

His sextet of majors was supplemented by a further 43 singles titles. This included 13 at Masters Series level. Events now known as 1000 tournaments. He also landed the season-ending showpiece the ATP World Championship (now Tour Finals) in 1992 and 1995, on home soil in Frankfurt. Becker reached 77 singles finals and won 49.

Wimbledon ascendancy

Grass was where Becker found himself at his most comfortable. Between 1985 and 1991, he reached the Wimbledon final six times, winning three. A seventh final at SW19, in 1995, saw him lose to Pete Sampras. In the Open Era, only Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic appeared in more finals. His grass court CV was further embellished by winning the prestigious Queens Club Championships on four occasions.

Becker enjoyed great success when representing his country. He was twice part of winning German Davis Cup teams in 1988 and 1989. His singles record of 38-3 is one of the competition's greatest. Alongside Michael Stich, who beat him in the 1991 Wimbledon final, they combined to win doubles Olympic gold for Germany at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Becker was also successful in the 1995 Hopman Cup, partnering Anke Huber. The success of Becker and Steffi Graf ushered in a massive swell of interest in German tennis. They remain the nation's greatest two players.

Becker came through at a time when leading singles players started to focus purely on singles competition. However he built a handy doubles record, winning 15 titles including the aforementioned Olympic doubles gold with Stich.

One surface Becker never won a tournament on was clay. His serve and volley approach was less conducive away from faster surfaces. The French Open was the only Slam to elude him. Three semi-final appearances were to remain his best showing. He also reached three finals at the Masters event on clay at Monte Carlo. A further sign he wasn't far away from conquering the red stuff.

Only German to reach World No.1

Becker spent twelve weeks at number one and is the only German to reach the top spot in the men's game. During his 15-year professional career, Becker spent much of it inside the top 10, a total of 536 weeks in all.

The age of Sampras and Agassi saw Becker fail to maintain the strike rate of success he enjoyed in the second half of the 80s and early 90s. His personal life was also under much greater scrutiny from the early 90s and may have seen Becker a little distracted.

Becker has married on three occasions. The first of these was to Barbara Feltus, in December 1993. The interracial nature of the relationship led to some racist abuse and they courted controversy by posing nude for a magazine called STERN. He had two children with Feltus before they eventually divorced early in the new millennium.

This separation was in part down to Becker’s infidelity when a one-night stand resulted in him producing another child. He tried to deny paternity for an extended period before eventually acknowledging he was the father.

His second marriage was to Shariely Kerssenberg in 2009. This resulted in a fourth child for Becker. They were later divorced in 2018.

Becker married for a third time last year to Portuguese woman Lilian De Carvalho Monteiro. Sadness was soon to follow for Becker when his mom Elvira passed away at the age of 89, only two months after the wedding.

Serbian legend Novak Djokovic enjoyed a successful coaching relationship with Becker. Six of his record 24 Grand Slams came under him. His period working with the serve and volley specialist marked a notable improvement in the net play of Djokovic. Becker had also advised on an unofficial basis his compatriot Alex Zverev, Germany’s best player since Becker.

Personal life and prison stint

The financial affairs of Becker have been a recurring story. He was fortunate to escape prison in 2002 when guilty of tax evasion. In 2017, he was declared bankrupt. This would prove his undoing as in 2022 Becker was found to have illegally failed to hand over assets and trophies representing a value of 2.5m to repay debt accrued during bankruptcy. He was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and eventually served eight months, being released in December 2022.

Becker had enjoyed prior to incarceration a successful broadcasting career for a,wide range of media organisations. UK tennis fans heard him on the BBC's coverage for much of the previous two decades, acting as a summariser on numerous men's singles finals. The Beeb have not engaged him since he was allowed to return to the UK after his prison sentence. Eurosport have used him following his release for an edition of the Australian Open.

His interests outside tennis include following Bayern Munich. He's also experienced a modicum of success in the world of poker.

Becker’s life has been one of the most colourful in tennis. This doesn't overshadow, however, the seismic impact he delivered as a teenager playing like a man before he was officially one. Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander are the only other two male players to win multiple Grand Slams as a teenager. As one punk band from the 1970s said, teenage kicks, hard to beat.

This article first appeared on TennisUpToDate.com and was syndicated with permission.

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