The former tennis star celebrated the New Year under the palm trees.
Boris Becker spent most of last year in prison. EPA/AOP
Received a prison sentence in the spring for embezzlement and was released from prison before Christmas Boris Becker has celebrated the turn of the year in the West African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, according to the German newspaper Bild.
On Saturday, the German sent greetings to his followers and thanked the people who supported him while he was at the beach. He describes the past year as the heaviest of his life. Becker spent eight months behind bars in two different prisons. He spent a week in the notorious Wandsworth prison before being transferred to Huntercombe.
Becker commented in an interview with the German Sat1 TV channel that he received death threats in prison. Now the Wimbledon winner breathes a sigh of relief and starts the year at a beach destination.
– It’s the last day of the year, and I want to say a few words to my loved ones and everyone who respected and supported me during the hardest year of my life. Now it’s over, I survived, I’m stronger. I feel better than ever, but I could never have gotten through it all without help. Thank you. Let’s decide 2022 and see you next year, says Becker in his video.
São Tomé and Príncipe is an island nation in West Africa and a popular holiday destination for beachgoers. PDO
The six-time tennis Grand Slam winner was deported from England early, when the country wants to make more room for prisons. Becker was sentenced to two and a half years of unconditional imprisonment for hiding his assets, but his sentence was shortened due to his foreign background.