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Tennis legend Boris Becker reflected on a difficult phase of his life when he served a prison sentence in the United Kingdom. The German was imprisoned in the UK in April 2022 for concealing £2.5 million worth of assets in an attempt to avoid repaying his debts after being declared bankrupt. He was initially handed a two-and-a-half-year sentence, but Becker received a reprieve in the form of the British "fast-track" scheme and got released after serving eight months of prison time.
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Boris Becker Reflects on His Prison Time In UK
Looking back at the time, Becker revealed how the predicament left a learning for him and indeed made him a better human.
“Every crisis I've survived in my life has been positive; I've always learned more from my defeats than from my victories. But this was certainly a very existential crisis, in which it was important to find myself again. Just like before Wimbledon 1986. I was in a sporting crisis and decided to do what I believe is right. It worked.”
The 6-time Grand Slam winner further revealed that his tennis accolades held no value inside the prison, and he was treated just like every other prisoner. He highlighted that under the situation; he banked on his personality and found the strength to endure the hardship.
“Even during that time in prison, I found myself again,” Boris Becker. “I had no other choice. When you lose everything—your freedom, your family, your money, your house—the only thing that remains is your personality, your character. And that's what I retreated to. My inner self has always been my refuge in difficult times.”
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