Auction of tennis star Boris Becker's items put on hold
June 28, 2018
The German tennis giant said "finally some good news" had come. It's the latest twist in Boris Becker's troubles after he tried to claim diplomatic immunity to get out of bankruptcy proceedings.
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A planned auction of former German tennis star Boris Becker's trophies and memorabilia has been put on hold at the last minute, according to his lawyers.
More than 80 items, including a Golden Camera, a US Open trophy, a Bambi award and a replica of a Wimbledon trophy were to go under the hammer at the Knapp gallery in London on Thursday under the direction of his bankruptcy trustees.
The former tennis pro has been wracked by financial problems for years, leading a London court last year to declare Becker bankrupt.
In a desperate bid earlier this month, the three-time Wimbledon champion sought diplomatic immunity from bankruptcy proceedings in Britain, citing his appointment as a sports attache for the Central African Republic.
However, the poor, conflict-wracked African country said the diplomatic passport Becker was holding was a fake. He and his legal team still maintain he has diplomatic immunity.
According to a letter Becker posted on Twitter, his lawyers threatened to file an injunction against the trustees, arguing that the items for sale were "intensely personal items of purely sentimental value to him."
The items included a used pair of socks, signed trainers, wrist bands, a track suit and a certificate from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, according the McCue & Partners law firm.
Becker's lawyers argued the items on the auction block were personal items exempt from sale under bankruptcy law. In response, the trustees halted the auction, making it unnecessary to go to court for an injunction.
His legal team also said that the auction appeared to be deliberately scheduled for around the time of the Wimbledon 2018, when Becker will be a regular on BBC television as a Wimbledon analyst.
Becker said the proposed auction was designed to humiliate and cause personal pain to him.
The value of the items, estimated at around €100,000 ($116,000), would represent just a fraction of the several million Becker owes creditors.
Boris Becker turns 50: His career in pictures
The man who helped spark a tennis boom in Germany in the 1980s has turned 50. Boris Becker has won Grand Slams both as a player and as a coach. But not everything he has turned his hand to has turned to gold.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/A. Pezzali
Teenaged German hero
On July 7, 1985 a 17-year-old, unseeded Boris Becker became an overnight star, defeating Kevin Curren to win the men's final at Wimbledon. He remains the youngest player to win at Wimbledon. He went on to defend his title in 1986, beating Ivan Lendl in the final, before winning it for a third time in 1989 when he overcame Stefan Edberg.
Image: Getty Images
The dawn of a new era
Before Boris Becker came along, Germany had never won the Davis Cup, This changed in 1988 when Becker and Carl-Uwe Steeb won their doubles match over then-world No. 1 Mats Wilander and reigning Wimbledon champion Stefan Edberg. Becker was also part of the German teams that won the Davis Cup in 1989 and 1993.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Schrader
Acrobat
In 1990, Becker was named German male athlete of the year for a fourth time. His high-pressure and flexible game was best suited to fast surfaces particularly indoors and on grass. His was a serve-and-volley player and the fans loved him for his specialty, an acrobatic diving volley.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Scheidemann
World No. 1
Becker got off to a perfect start in the 1991 season, winning the Australian Open and reaching the top of the men's singles rankings for the first time. The German won a total of 49 singles titles in his career, including six Grand Slams. The French Open, however, eluded him.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Bruty
Silent partners
At the Barcelona Summer Olympics in 1992, both Becker and his German rival Michael Stich (above, left) were eliminated early from the men's singles. However, they combined to win gold in the men's doubles. "We didn't really talk to each other at all between the rallies," Becker would later say. "We really didn't like each other."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. U. Wärner
Wife No. 1
In late 1993 Becker married German-American actress and designer Barbara Feltus. Six years later, she and the rest of the world learned of his broom-closet affair with Russian model Angela Ermakova. The affair produced Becker's third child and led to his 2001 divorce from Barbara.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Farewell to the tennis court
Boris Becker's last match as a professional tennis player was his defeat to Australia's Patrick Rafter in the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 1999. Becker's career took a high physical toll on him. He has been quoted as saying that "I have two new hips and a 10-centimeter-long (six inches) metal plate in my right ankle, and I have a slight limp."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Niedringhaus
Tax-evasion conviction
In 2002, Becker was convicted of evading €1.7 million ($1.9 million) in tax and handed a two-year suspended sentence. The judge had found that although Becker, like many other wealthy celebrities, officially resided in Monaco between 1991 and 1993, he actually spent the bulk of his time in Munich.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/S. Behne
Another day in court
In 2007, Becker found himself back in court as the owner of 60 percent of the shares in a company called Sportgate, which had gone bankrupt several years earlier. This time he got off easy, with the judges ordering him to pay just €114,000, far less than creditors had originally demanded.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Wife No. 2
In 2009, Becker married again, making Sharlely Kerssenberg of the Netherlands his second wife. She is the mother of his fourth child, Amadeus Benedict Edley Luis. They split their time between London and Zurich.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa /U. Deck
New job
At the end of 2013 most were surprised by the news that Boris Becker had just become Novak Djokovic's new coach. The Serbian, who at the time was the world No. 2, hired Becker in the hope that he could be of particular help with the mental side of his game. Under his German coach, Djokovic went on to return to the No. 1 spot in 2014.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Arrizabalaga
Surplus to requirements
Djokovic and Becker formed a successful partnership, with the Serbian winning six Grand Slam titles under the German's tutelage. It all fell apart in late 2016 though. Becker pointed to a lack of intensity in training as the reason for Djokovic's dip in form. It has also been said that he didn't feel comfortable with the influence on the Serbian of a Spanish spiritual guru.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A. Grant
Bankrupt
On June 21, 2017, a London court declared Boris Becker bankrupt after a private bank went to court over a "substantial" sum he owed them. The registrar found that there was a lack of credible evidence the amount would be paid anytime soon. Becker has rejected the notion, telling the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung that he was "neither insolvent, nor bankrupt."
Image: picture-alliance/ATP/J.-P. Pariente
'Head of tennis'
All through his ups and downs, Boris Becker has remained the face of men's tennis in Germany. In August 2017, the German tennis federation (DTB) has named him to the newly created post of "head of tennis." In his new role, he is to manage all German men's tennis and oversee the running of the country's Davis Cup team. Barbara Rittner was given a similar role for the women.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
Looking back with satisfaction
Becker, seen here at the 2017 ATP Finals in London, refused to answer when asked by a reporter to say how he planned to celebrate his 50th birthday. "This is a private matter that I will not comment on," he said. In a German television documentary, Becker seemed satisfied with his lot in life. "When I look back at my life... I think, then I have gotten more things right than wrong," he said.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/A. Pezzali
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Becker shot to fame as Germany's Grand Slam winning poster boy in 1985 when he was just 17. He remains the youngest men's singles Wimbledon champion. But his off-court indiscretions since then have not always endeared him to the public: They include a broom closet romp with a model while his first wife was pregnant, a tax evasion trial and a string of failed businesses.
Though Becker ultimately won six Grand Slam trophies and millions of dollars in prize money, the costly settlements of his various romantic entanglements, including divorce, have whittled his wealth away.
A series of business ventures have also proved unsuccessful, including an internet organic food firm and the Becker Tower in Dubai.
At the end of May, it was announced that Becker and his second wife, Dutch model Sharlely "Lilly" Kerssenberg, would separate.
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.