Boris Becker says he was hounded in public 'at every turn... just like Princess Diana’

Former world tennis No1 Becker, who was the youngest ever Wimbledon men's winner, said a judge who sentenced had condemned his “entire family” to suffer.

Becker, 57, also compared his high profile life to that of Princess Diana, saying "I could put myself in her shoes to some extent."

Becker was jailed at Southwark Crown Court in 2022 for concealing several valuable assets and loans from his creditors after declaring himself bankrupt.

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He was released after eight months.

In 2024, a High Court judge discharged his bankruptcy order, noting he had done "all he reasonably can do" to meet his financial obligations.

He said the British judge who sentenced him to prison “condemned” his “entire family” to suffer.

Now working in Milan as a sports commentator and ambassador for several clothing brands, Boris has spoken out about how “suffocated” he felt before moving to live and work in Italy.

In a recent interview, he described his private life as a “fortress”, and has hit out at the German public and former friends, by whom he feels “betrayed”.

He then compared his life to that of Princess Diana.

“I knew Diana; we ran into each other a few times,” he said.

“I knew she was constantly on the run from the paparazzi, and that nothing was taboo to these people. I could put myself in her shoes to some extent. Life as a public figure who is pursued at every turn - that is part of my story, too.”

“Life in the fast lane is dangerous - wunderkinds don’t live to an especially old age, because their lives move at such great speed[...] I don’t want to be a wunderkind any more, I don’t want this whole circus.”

While speaking about his conviction in Britain, he accused the judge of not realising they had “condemned” his family alongside him.

Mr Becker said he’d “atoned” for what he considered “double mistakes” and faults.

“What the judge didn’t realise, and no one else on the outside: when you condemn someone, you condemn their entire family,” he said.

“In my case that was my children, my sister, my mother, and of course, my wife.”

Mr Becker married his third wife Lilian de Carvalho in Portofino, Italy in September 2024.