Boris Becker’s daughter says his prison sentence ‘is not fair’

The daughter of Boris Becker has said she is concerned about the welfare of her younger brother after her father was jailed following a bankruptcy scam.

The six-times Grand Slam winner, who earned £35m during his illustrious tennis career, was jailed for 30 months on Friday after a jury found that he hid millions of pounds’ worth of assets to avoid paying his debts.

The 54-year-old was declared bankrupt in June 2017 over an unpaid loan of more than £3m on his estate in Mallorca, Spain.

German-born Becker, who has lived in the UK since 2012, was convicted of four charges under the Insolvency Act.

These included failing to declare a £1.3m property in his hometown of Leimen and hiding an €825,000 (£692,000) bank loan and 75,000 shares in a tech firm.

Anna Ermakova, 22, has hit out at the sentence by saying “it is not fair” her 12-year-old half-brother will go without his father for an extended period of time.

She told German newspaper Bild: “I’m really in shock that my father has been sentenced to two years and six months. I will support him and I will visit him whenever I can. I hope that will help him a little to get through the time.’

She added that she had “helped as best I could” and had written to the court in support of her father before he was sentenced.

“I wrote a letter to the court to express my concern for my little half-brother, Amadeus,” she said.

“After all, he is only 12 and will now have to do without a father figure, whom he will lack during a difficult phase of his development. It’s not fair to him. It’s going to be tough for Amadeus.”

Sharing an image of the sea, she had earlier thanked fans for their support.

She wrote on Instagram: “Thank you for all the support”.

Becker was cleared of 20 other charges, including nine counts of failing to hand over trophies and medals won during his tennis career.

Becker, who has been a commentator for the BBC, appeared in the dock at London’s Southwark Crown Court wearing a grey suit and a striped tie in the Wimbledon colours of purple and green.

His partner, Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro, and his eldest son, Noah, attended the hearing.

In mitigation, Becker’s lawyer, Jonathan Laidlaw QC, requested a suspended sentence for his client on the basis that the trial had "destroyed his career entirely".

But Judge Deborah Taylor rejected the plea and said Becker had shown no remorse or acceptance of guilt.

She told Becker: "I take into account what has been described as your fall from grace. You have lost your career and reputation and all of your property as a result of your bankruptcy."

But she added: "You have not shown remorse, acceptance of your guilt and have sought to distance yourself from your offending and your bankruptcy.

"While I accept your humiliation as part of the proceedings, there has been no humility."

Anna was born following a one-night stand between Becker and Russian waitress Angela Ermakova.

Following her birth, the tennis ace was reportedly ordered to pay around £2m in maintenance fees.

His first wife, Barbara, with whom he has two children, divorced him soon afterwards.

Boris Becker has four children.

Noah and Elias were born to first wife Barbara, who won custody of them following the divorce proceedings.

Anna, born to former waitress Ermakova, is now a model and maintains her mother’s surname.

In 2010, Boris and second wife Lilly announced the birth of Amadeus Benedict Edley Luis Becker.