Boris Becker breaks silence in harrowing reveal about spell in prison
The tennis great has spoken out after his release from prison, revealing that an inmate threatened to kill him.
Tennis great Boris Becker has revealed brutal details of his stay in prison, which included a fellow inmate's threat to kill the 55-year-old. Becker was last week released from prison and deported back to Germany just months after being sentenced over a $4 million fraud.
He was convicted of four charges under Britain's Insolvency Act, including failing to disclose, concealing and removing significant assets following a bankruptcy trial, but released from prison less than eight months after being sentenced to to two-and-a-half years behind bars for hiding hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of assets from creditors after declaring bankruptcy.
'NO LOVE LOST': Pat Rafter spills staggering secret about Ash Barty
'MAKES ME SAD': Tennis fans react to Nick Kyrgios bombshell
'ALREADY IS': Ash Barty's staggering call on Ajla Tomljanovic
In a harrowing account of his time in prison, Becker broke down in tears after revealing that an immate he referred to as "John", explained to the German great in graphic detail how he was going to kill him. Becker said he feared for his life while behind bars in English prisons, Wandsworth and Huntercombe.
Becker told German broadcaster SAT 1 about his prison stints: "I was immediately confronted with a reality that I had no experience with. It was dangerous. I tried not to look anyone in the eye and stay in my corner. He described the experience as a "hard lesson" that had made him “look in the mirror” and reflect on the mistakes he'd made.
“Wandsworth is really big, really dirty, extremely dangerous," he said. There are murderers, paedophiles, drug dealers – you meet everyone. It’s about surviving. You go out of your cell and you need to save your skin – the guards won’t do it for you.”
The six-time grand slam champion said he made three vital friends in prison, who he says will remain connected for life. Becker labelled his inmate pals "listeners" and credits them with saving his life when "John" threatened to murder him.
"He wanted to kill me. He underestimated that other inmates would come to my help and threaten him. I was shaking so much, with the food tray in hand," Becker recalled. "When you have fought for survival together, that brings you together. We needed each other," he added.
The two-time Australian Open champion was sentenced to 30 months in prison in April for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt. Becker would normally have had to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for parole, but was released early under a fast-track deportation program for foreign nationals.
Becker said prison authorities appeared to try and ensure his safety by allocating him a single cell and getting three experienced inmates to guide him in his new life behind bars. The tennis icon said in November a number of fellow prisoners even organised cakes to share for his birthday.
Boris Becker says jail was 'good for me'
The 55-year-old described being behind bars as "the loneliest moment I've ever had in life" and revealed that he did not even get a chance to say goodbye to family and loved ones before being whisked off to prison in April.
"I've never experienced such solidarity in the free world," he said, adding he planned to stay in touch with some of the people he met in prison.
He added: "It was the worst time of my life but perhaps I needed it. I had a lot of time to reflect and I recognised my mistakes. I think jail was good for me.
"I believe I rediscovered the human in me, the person I once was. I’ve learnt a hard lesson. A very expensive one. A very painful one. I think I've become a better man than I was before."
For Becker, who rose to stardom in 1985 at age 17 when he became the first unseeded player to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon, the prison sentence was a heavy blow.
Asked about the judge's statement that Becker had shown "no humility", he acknowledged in the interview, "Maybe I should have (been) even more clear, more emotional. Of course I was guilty," he said of the four out of 29 counts he was convicted on.
After retiring from professional tennis in 1999, Becker worked as a coach - including for Novak Djokovic - and television pundit while also engaging in a wide range of investments and celebrity poker games. "For years I made mistakes, I had false friends," he said. "This time in prison brought me back."
with agencies
Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.
