Tennis legend, jet setter, father with a turbulent lifestyle: Even though most of Boris Becker's life has been covered in detail by tabloids, here are a few little-known facts about him.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/R. Schrader
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High Five: 5 facts about Boris Becker you probably didn't know
Not much from Boris Becker's life has been kept private. Still, here are a few details from the tennis star's life you perhaps didn't know.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/R. Schrader
Boris, the parenting counselor
Boris Becker is rather known as a bon vivant, but the tennis star is also the author of a parenting guide. In "Was Kinder stark macht" (What makes children strong), from 2007, he wrote about his love for the three children he already had at the time. However, the book is more for fans than for worried parents; critics didn't consider the work to be very serious.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Hörhager
Boris, an exceptional talent
Speaking of children, whoever believed the Becker kids would follow in their dad's footsteps are wrong. None of them can play tennis that well. The oldest son, 23-year-old Noah, (pictured) is a DJ and artist, Elias (18) collects likes on Instagram, his daughter Anna (17) is a successful model and his youngest son, Amadeus, hopes to become a policeman some day.
Image: AP
Boris, or Mr. Clean
Vanity is an essential step to healthy self-confidence, Boris Becker once said. That's why he takes extra good care of his appearance. This includes not only a collection of expensive fine-tailored suits, but also some serious body hygiene: He claims to take three showers a day. After all, his body is his main resource, he explained.
Image: picture alliance/EPA/dpa/Hayoung Jeon
Boris, the namesake
There are presumably a few little boys born in the 1980s or 90s named Boris after the famous tennis star. One researcher even gave his name to a new species. In 1996, biologist Manfred Parth discovered a species of sea snail and officially named it a few years later "Bufonaria borisbeckeri."
Image: picture-alliance/Mandoga Media
Boris, the ice cream
"Boom-boom Boris" was one of Boris Becker's many nicknames, as the tennis wunderkind was renowned for his ferocious serves. A German ice cream company had the name trademarked after his Wimbledon win in 1985. In Germany, the "Bum Bum," which has the shape of a tennis racket and a chewing gum stick, is legendary to this day.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/R. Schrader
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In 1985, a 17-year-old player from Baden-Württemberg won at Wimbledon's prestigious tennis tournament, defeating the favorite at the time, Kevin Curren. Boris Becker's triumph came as a complete surprise, and turned him into an international star overnight.
Becker became the youngest Wimbledon champion, a record he still retains to this day. The German president at the time, Richard von Weizsäcker, was one of the first to congratulate him. The winning tennis racket used by "Bobbeles," as Becker was nicknamed, was later give to Pope John Paul II.
In Germany, Boris Becker triggered a sudden hysteria for tennis. Instead of football, people in the 1980s would watch the French Open; millions of people became members of tennis clubs. Meanwhile, Boris Becker kept climbing to the top rankings of world players.
Sports and scandals
By the time his professional tennis-playing career ended in 1999, Becker had won 49 singles titles and 15 in doubles, including an Olympic gold medal.
After that, although he worked as a trainer for Novac Djokovic, he rather made headlines for his excessive lifestyle, with affairs in broom closets, an illegitimate child and bankruptcies.
Beyond those big scandals, there remain a few little-known details from the tennis star's life. Discover them in this High Five gallery.
