Boris Beckher found being sent to prison "a huge embarassment"
The tennis legend - who was freed from jail and deported back to Germany from Britain in December 2022 under an early release scheme after serving only eight months of his two-and-a-half year sentence for breaching bankruptcy rules - refused to "feel sorry" for himself when he was sent behind bars and has taken responsibility for his own actions
10 February 2025
He told The Times newspaper: "Of course it's a huge embarrassment and of course you're shameful, but you cannot feel sorry for yourself. If you feel like a victim you're never going to make it out. I never felt like a victim and very early on I was trying to take responsibility for my actions, good and bad.
"I don't blame anybody. I'm responsible for my good decisions and for my bad decisions. More importantly for me is how you finish and I feel like I really came out better."
The 57-year-old retired sportsman admitted he wasn't "in a good place" before being sent to prison but he is "really excited" about his future now.
He reflected: "I'm not a complainer. I don't whine about things; I deal with them. Sometimes I can fix them, sometimes I don't, but I don't complain about it.
"But... I was not in a good place then. I am in a better place. I'm in steady waters again and I intend to be for the rest of my life.
"I'm really excited to be given the chance again of changing the road I was on - and being able to have the chance again at 57 is not usual. I'm a lot more at peace with myself."
The 'Celebrity Bear Hunt' contestant thinks many high-profile sports stars suffer from financial issues, in part because of the people around them.
He said: "I think it's a problem for many athletes, that their surroundings are not really professional. A lot of athletes, almost regardless of how much they made, have financial problems sooner or later. It's not uncommon.
"After my professional tennis career I was financially very well off. A few other things happened much later that were mistakes, done by myself, but also done by bad advice, where I ran into problems, but right after my professional career I was well off...
"It's not one mistake. It's being surrounded by people that maybe don't have the best interest for you, whether that's privately or professionally. And then you come into a wave of problems where you cannot get yourself out. But it doesn't happen overnight; it's gradually. Then also you as a person, you're not always on your mark. You're not always disciplined enough. In my case maybe I was trusting too easily. With hindsight you're always smarter."
And the German star - who has Noah, 31, and 25-year-old Elias with first wife Barbara, 24-year-old Anna from a brief relationship with Angela Ermakova, and Amadeus, 14, with second wife Lilly, and is now married to Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro - admitted his turbulent personal life was also a factor.
He said: "Divorces are expensive. Even for very wealthy people. Children are expensive. A certain lifestyle is expensive too. So it's not just one problem, right? It's a combination."
However, Boris insisted he doesn't blame anyone else.
He said: "I don't blame anybody. Ultimately it was my life and I don't look for any excuses."
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