An auction of Boris Becker's trophies has resumed after the tennis star dropped a legal challenge to prevent it. The sale has been described as a "rare opportunity for tennis fans to acquire memorabilia of this kind."
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An online auction for a collection of Boris Becker's trophies and other personal memorabilia has resumed after the German tennis star withdrew an injunction to prevent the sale from happening, auction house Wyles Hardy announced this week.
The 82 items were first offered for sale in June 2018 to raise money for creditors but were later withheld amid a legal challenge from Becker. The tennis star has been wracked by financial problems for years, leading a London court last year to declare him bankrupt. The auction is generating interest from Becker's supporters and creditors.
"We hope and expect the sale will create the same level of excitement as it did last year, as this is a rare opportunity for tennis fans to acquire memorabilia of this kind," read a statement from the auction house.
Old trainers and socks
Becker's items going under the hammer also include a used pair of socks, signed trainers, wrist bands, a track suit and a certificate from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Last year, Becker's lawyers had 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.
The timed online auction is underway and is expected to run until July 11, 2019.
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.
It was announced last year that Becker and his second wife, Dutch model Sharlely "Lilly" Kerssenberg, would separate.
kw/msh (AFP, dpa)
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.