Tennis Ace Boris Becker Recalls Prison Loneliness, Friends

Former tennis player Boris Becker arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London, Friday, April 29, 2022. Fresh out of prison for bankruptcy offenses, tennis great Boris Becker is heading for the limelight again. German broadcaster SAT.1 was due Tuesday to air the first interview with Becker since his release, quoting the 55-year-old saying his jail time had taught him “a hard lesson, a very expensive one, a very painful one.” (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

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By Associated Press

December 20, 2022 at 4:20 PM UTC

Updated on

December 20, 2022 at 10:35 PM UTC

Berlin (AP) -- Tennis great Boris Becker tearfully recounted the moment the door of his single-occupancy cell at Britain’s notorious Wandsworth prison closed for the first time, speaking publicly after serving eight months for bankruptcy offenses.

“It was the loneliest moment I’ve ever had in life,” Becker said in an interview with German broadcaster SAT.1 that aired Tuesday, recalling how hours earlier he had been unable to say farewell to his loved ones before being led downstairs to the courtroom jail.