Boris Becker is a former German tennis player. He was born on November 22, 1967 as Boris Franz Becker at a place called Leimen, near Heidelberg. He was the only son of an architect who had built the tennis center where Becker played against Steffi Graff when they were children.
Boris turned pro in 1984 and in July 1, 1985, within a year he goes on to became the first ever youngest unseeded player, and the first German to win the Wimbledon defeating Kevin Curren. He was only 17 years of age. Boris Becker has won 49 singles and 15 double titles over his career, which included including three Wimbledon in 1985, 1986 and 1989, two Australian Open in 1991 and 1996 and the U.S. Open in 1989.
Besides the six Grand Slam titles, he won the Masters/ ATP Tour World Championships in 1988, 1992 and finally in 1995. He had also won 2 Davis Cups. In the 1992 Olympic, along with Michael Stich, he won the Men’s tennis doubles title. He delivered his best performances at the French Open where he reached the semi-finals in 1987, 1989, and 1991.
Boris Becker preferred fast-playing surfaces, like indoor carpet and grass courts. While he had won 26 titles playing on indoor carpet, he only managed to reach a few finals while playing on clay courts but never in his professional career has he won a clay court tournament.
Becker has won singles titles in fourteen different countries which includes United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland Japan, Qatar, and Sweden. Becker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.
Boris Becker married Barbara Feltus, on December 17. 1993. The fact that she was the daughter of an African-American serviceman and a German woman caused a lot of shock and talks among the general public. However when the shock of their pairing died down, they came to be associated with the idea of New Germany. His stance against racial intolerance earned Boris Becker a lot of respect among his countrymen. However, things changed when he asked for a separation. Their pre-trial hearing was broadcast live on January 2001. Germans sided with Barbara. Boris Becker was granted a divorce on January 15, 200. Barbara got a $14.4 million settlement, the condo at Florida, and full custody of their two sons, Elias and Noah.
Boris Becker’s life was plagued by scandals post retirement. In February, 2001, he had to recognize paternity of a daughter when DNA results proved that he had fathered the child with model Angela Ermakova. He was convicted of tax evasion on October 24, 2002 when he admitted he had been living in Germany while claiming to reside in Monte Carlo (from 1991-93), regarded to be a haven. He was fined $500,000 and was given two years’ probation. He was also ordered to pay up all court costs.
Boris Becker plays on the Senior ATP Tour occasionally. He published his tell-all autobiography in November 2003. Becker is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.