Boris Becker claimed that he was told by an inmate that he would have his throat slit during his stint in prison. The three-time Wimbledon champion was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail at the end of April 2022 before being released eight months later.
Becker is one of the most famous faces in men’s tennis, having won the Wimbledon title for the first time in 1985 at the age of 17. He went on to clinch silverware at the All England Club on another two occasions, with the German also tasting victory at the 1989 US Open and the 1991 and 1996 editions of the Australian Open. He retired from tennis in 1999 and went on to work for the BBC as a pundit at Wimbledon, as well as turning his hand to coaching. The legendary player even coached Novak Djokovic between 2013 and 2016 during a successful period for the Serbian star.
Becker was declared bankrupt in 2017 and was legally obliged to disclose all his assets in order for funds to be distributed to people he owed money to.
But he was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of hiding £2.5million worth of assets and loans as he was ordered to serve jail time.
The 57-year-old was locked up in HMP Wandsworth for almost a month before being transferred to HMP Huntercombe, a prison for foreign nationals in Oxfordshire. Following his release he was deported to Germany.
To be the first to receive the latest tennis news, join our WhatsApp community or newsletter
Becker has released a book called Inside, which details his experiences of prison life.
And during an interview with The Times, the six-time Grand Slam winner recalled the moment he came face-to-face with a new inmate snooping around the cell of the prisoner he was closest to.
The new inmate turned out to be a convicted murderer and reportedly told the tennis icon: “I’m going to slit your throat. I’m going to kill you.”
Becker, who was aided by friends during the scary incident, added: “Thankfully that happened almost at the end of my stay so I had a safety net around me.”
And recalling his initial reaction to being locked up, Becker explained: “The first thing that you hear is this screaming by everybody and you don’t know why. I’m thinking somebody is killing themselves. I’m scared s***less.
“You get anxiety attacks. You breathe quicker, you start to cry because you’re alone – nobody can help you.
“It is filthy as hell and so you’re like, ‘What happened to me? How is it possible that after all the life I’ve had and the good things I’ve done, I’m in HMP Wandsworth on a Saturday evening?’”
