Six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker said winning Wimbledon at age 17 was too much for him to handle and that unrealistic expectations affected the rest of his career and life after tennis.
“I’m happy to have won three, but maybe 17 was too young,” Becker, 57, told BBC Sport of his Wimbledon titles in 1985, 1986 and 1989. “I was still a child.”
The German also captured major titles at the Australian Open (1991, 1996) and U.S. Open (1989) as part of a legendary singles and doubles career. But the former No. 1 player also had problems in his private life, including financial difficulties that resulted in going to prison for eight months for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding assets after he was declared bankrupt.
Becker traces it back to pressure created by his early success, when as an unseeded player he defeated Kevin Curren to become Wimbledon’s youngest men’s singles champion at 17 years, 227 days.
He reflects on life, including his time in prison, in a new autobiography.
“If you remember any other wunderkind (wonderkid), they usually don’t make it to 50 because of the trials and tribulations that come after,” Becker told BBC Sport in an interview for an article published online Wednesday.
“Whatever you do, wherever you go, whoever you talk to, it becomes a world sensation,” Becker said. “It becomes the headline of some of the most important papers of tomorrow. And you’re just trying to mature, just trying to find your feet in the world.
“When you start a second career, everything is measured at this success of winning Wimbledon at 17. And that changed the road ahead tremendously.”
His journey included staying in the tennis world after retiring in 1999 and making the transition from player to broadcast commentator. He also has coached players, including current great Novak Djokovic from 2013-16, when the Serbian won six of his 24 Grand Slam men’s singles crowns.
Becker watched from prison as Djokovic won at Wimbledon in 2022.
“That was very inspirational for me and in the end very emotional for me,” Becker said. “My brother Novak is there and I’m in one of the worst prisons in the world. So it puts life into perspective.”
Becker was released from prison in London in 2023 and deported from the United Kingdom.
After too much, too soon, Becker has, with time, put his life in context.
“I was too comfortable. I had too much money,” he said. “Nobody told me ‘no’ — everything was possible. In hindsight, that’s the recipe for disaster.
“So you take accountability for your actions, which is very important because you cannot look back anymore. You cannot change the past. You can only change the future because you live in today.”
–Field Level Media
