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Boris BeckerGerman tennis player
Date of Birth: 22.11.1967
Country:  Germany |
Content:
Biography of Boris Becker
Childhood and YouthBoris Franz Becker was born on November 22, 1967, in Leimen, German Democratic Republic (GDR). His parents, Elvira and Karl-Heinz, raised him as a Catholic. In his childhood, Boris Becker dreamed of becoming an archaeologist, as he was fascinated by the opportunity to travel and explore long-forgotten places. While his mother wanted him to become a doctor, his father supported him in any endeavor. In 1974, Boris Becker's father built a tennis center in Leimen, and it was during the opening that the young Boris was captivated by the sport and asked his parents to enroll him in a tennis club. Thus began his brilliant career as the world's number one tennis player.
Personal Life
Boris Becker's personal life has been marred by scandal. Every romantic relationship of the tennis player has made headlines in tabloids around the world. On December 17, 1993, Boris Becker married model Barbara Feltus, a German of African descent. At the time of their wedding, she was visibly pregnant. Just a month later, on January 18, 1994, their first child, Noah Gabriel, was born, followed by Elias Balthazar on September 4, 1999. In his autobiography, "Life is Not a Game" (2013), Boris Becker revealed that his marriage to Barbara Feltus ended due to infidelity. He had a one-night stand with an unknown woman and confessed the affair to his wife. The divorce process, which ended on January 15, 2001, cost Boris Becker $14.4 million, his condominium in Fisher Island, Florida, and custody of his children. Not long after the divorce, Boris Becker found himself in the center of another scandal when the media discovered his illegitimate daughter. Anna was born in 2000 after a brief encounter between the tennis player and Russian model Angela Ermakova. Initially, Boris Becker denied his paternity, but in February 2001, he acknowledged Anna as his daughter, and a DNA test confirmed it. In November 2007, Boris Becker gained joint custody of Anna, as he was dissatisfied with Angela Ermakova's parenting methods. In 2008, he proposed to Alessandra Meyer-Wölden, the daughter of his manager, but they broke up in November of the same year without getting married. On June 12, 2009, Lilli Kerssenberg, a model from the Netherlands, became Lilli Becker. They had a son named Amadeus Benedict Edley Luis in February 2010. However, their marriage ended in May 2018. Since July 2019, Boris Becker has been in a relationship with Layla Powell, a British model, but he has not made any official statements about the romance.
Tennis Career
Boris Becker began his professional tennis career in 1984, attempting to win several Grand Slam tournaments. However, he was eliminated from Wimbledon during the qualifying stage and reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. In 1985, Boris Becker became the youngest Wimbledon champion, winning the tournament at the age of 17 years and 227 days. Among the record holders of Grand Slam tournaments, only Michael Chang was younger, winning the French Open at the age of 17 years and 110 days. In 1986, Boris Becker successfully defended his Wimbledon title by defeating Ivan Lendl in the final. This was the first time he defeated the world's number one player. Although Boris Becker only topped the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings in 1991, he had already defeated 19 opponents who held the status of world number one. In 1988, he became the first player from the GDR to win the Davis Cup, and he repeated this triumph in the following season. In 1989, he achieved an unprecedented feat by winning both Wimbledon and the US Open. This accomplishment has only been achieved by Boris Becker in the history of tennis. After winning the Australian Open in 1991 and achieving the long-awaited status of world number one, Boris Becker faced difficulties in his career. His most significant achievement during that period was winning the gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in partnership with Michael Stich. In 1996, Boris Becker partially ended his string of failures by winning the Australian Open but lost to Pete Sampras at Wimbledon. About Sampras, Boris Becker said, "Undoubtedly, he has the best serve of all the players I've encountered." Boris Becker retired from professional tennis on June 25, 1999, with 49 individual victories (including 6 Grand Slam titles) and 15 doubles titles.
Life After Tennis
Unable to stay away from sports, Boris Becker became interested in poker. In April 2008, he participated in a PokerStars tournament for the first time and earned $40,000 in prize money. According to the Global Poker Index, Boris Becker earned over $100,000 from tournaments in the five years leading up to his appointment as Novak Djokovic's coach. However, his passion for gambling, lavish parties, and luxury items led Boris Becker to declare bankruptcy in 2017. According to tabloids, the once-wealthy tennis player owed private bank Arbuthnot Latham more than $14 million. Boris Becker attempted to resolve this debt by seeking a diplomatic position as Attaché for Sports, Humanitarian, and Cultural Affairs of the Central African Republic (CAR) in the European Union. In June 2018, representatives of the CAR stated that such a position did not exist and that the document presented by Boris Becker was a forgery. The legal proceedings resulted in the sale of his assets. In June 2019, Boris Becker auctioned off 82 items from his personal collection, including the trophy from the 1989 US Open, earning around $860,000. In addition, Arbuthnot Latham repossessed his villa in Mallorca, Spain. Despite his financial difficulties, Boris Becker continues to enjoy life and shares his photos with his children, friends, and colleagues on Instagram. He devotes special attention to his heirs, such as congratulating his illegitimate daughter, Anna, on her 20th birthday on March 22, 2020, and boasting about taking his son Elias, his second child with Barbara Feltus, to a Chelsea football match in late February of the same year.
Achievements
1985, 1986, 1989 - Wimbledon Champion
1985, 1986, 1989, 1990 - German Sportsman of the Year
1988, 1989 - Davis Cup Champion
1989 - US Open Champion
1991, 1996 - Australian Open Champion
1992 - Olympic Games Gold Medalist in Doubles (with Michael Stich)
