Boris Becker, a German tennis legend, was freed from bankruptcy court in London on Wednesday after a judge determined he had done “all that he reasonably could do” to repay creditors tens of millions of pounds.
Becker came far short of repaying his creditors for roughly 50 million pounds ($62.5 million), but Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Nicholas Briggs said it would be “perverse” not to close the case given Becker’s efforts.
“On the spectrum of bankrupts who range from ‘difficult as possible and doing everything to frustrate the trustee’s inquiries’ to ‘co-operative, providing information and delivering up assets’, Mr Becker clearly falls on the right side of the queue,” Briggs stated in an email. Also read: Emma Raducanu suffers heavy first-round loss in Madrid
Four Insolvency Act offenses, including property removal, debt concealment, and two instances of failing to report estate, resulted in his conviction in a London court. The bankruptcy trustees failed to receive Grand Slam trophies and an Olympic gold medal from Boris on 25 other charges, including nine counts of neglect.
He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, but was freed early due to a fast-track deportation programme for foreign nationals.
Becker rose to prominence as the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon singles event in 1985, when he was 17 years old. He went on to become the world’s top player, winning two Wimbledon championships, two Australian Open crowns, and one United States Open title. Also read: Tomas Machac Becomes The Third Czech To Defeat Andrey Rublev In The Last 30 Days with A Win In Miami
He quit from professional tennis in 1999 to pursue a career as a coach, television pundit, investor, and celebrity poker player. Attorney Katie Longstaff said at a High Court hearing last month that the joint trustees did not oppose his effort to end the case but did not support it because he still owed about 42 million pounds ($52.5 million).
Becker blamed his financial woes on sloth and bad advice, which caused him to declare bankruptcy after owing creditors about 50 million pounds ($62.5 million) for an outstanding loan of more than 3 million pounds ($3.75 million) on his Mallorca home in Spain. Also read: Quiet Aryna Sabalenka Cleans Ahead of Good Friend Paula Badosa in Miami Second Round