Former world No. 1 Boris Becker will be home for Christmas.
By Alberto Amalfi | Thursday, December 15, 2022
Boris Becker celebrates life as a free man today.
Former world No. 1 Becker was released from a British prison today after serving eight months of a two-and-a-half year sentence for bankruptcy fraud.
Hall of Famer Becker “has thus served his sentence and is not subject to any penal restrictions in Germany," his lawyer, Christian-Oliver Moser, said in a statement.
Last April, the 55-year-old Becker was sentenced to prison for hiding about $3 million in assets after his 2017 bankruptcy.
Following his early release today, Becker boarded a private plane and was deported back to his native Germany.
The private plane is reportedly part of the deal Becker signed with a Munich TV station in exchange for his first interview after his release. Becker received an early Christmas and is planning to reunite with his 87-year-old mother, Elvira Becker, in his hometown of Leimen, Germany.
The Hall of Famer has spent the past seven months in Huntercomb in Oxon prison where he’s taught yoga, physical education and ancient Greek philosophy.
Overcrowding in British prisons is a main reason why Becker was sprung 10 days before Christmas after serving only eight months of that two-and-a-half year sentence.
In an effort to alleviate crowded prisons, officials created an early release program for foreign nationals. Any foreign national serving a fixed sentence who is liable to be removed from the UK is eligible to be taken from prison and deported to their home country up to 12 months before the earliest release point of their sentence.
Three-time Wimbledon winner Becker, who has lived in Wimbledon Village for many years, is originally from Leimen, Germany. Elvira Becker had pleaded with the judge to spare her son prison time at his sentencing saying “he is a decent boy overall.”
Photo credit: Boris Becker Instagram
