Tennis legend Boris Becker’s trial began on Monday to determine whether the six-time Grand Slam singles champion will be found guilty of failing to settle debts by concealing his trophies and property.
The controversial 54-year-old, who now serves as a tennis commentator for the BBC, is on an indictment of over 20 counts. He was declared bankrupt in 2017 and is accused of not complying with mandatory asset disclosure protocols. Some of the assets that Becker allegedly did not hand over included his 1985 Wimbledon men’s singles trophy — which made the then-unknown-17-year-old a household name — and his Australian Open trophies from 1991 and 1996.
In addition, Becker is accused of concealing several pieces of property and $2.3 million, in addition to transferring hundreds of thousands to other accounts, including his estranged wife, Lilly, and his ex-wife, Barbara.
If found guilty, Becker faces a maximum of seven years in prison. The German denies seven counts of concealing property, two charges of removing property required by the receiver, five counts of failing to disclose details of his estate and one count of concealing debt.
The trial, which is expected to last three weeks, is taking place in London — the city that Becker currently resides — and he will be using a translator.
In his 16 years as a professional tennis player, Becker won 49 singles tournaments out of the 77 finals he competed in. Becker became Wimbledon’s youngest singles champion in 1985 and was the first unseeded player to win the tournament.
Becker’s role as fellow former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s coach between 2013 and 2016 was argued by his lawyer to give him diplomatic immunity and prevent him from being charge for debt payments. This claim was quickly dropped.
