Germany’s tennis icon Boris Becker will apparently not be on site in New York as planned as a TV expert at the US Open.
According to “Bild”, all team members of the streaming service “Sportdeutschland.TV” arrived in the USA on Monday – except for the six-time Grand Slam winner. However, the first transmission with the 55-year-old should start at 5 p.m.
“There is no accreditation for the US Open for Becker,” said a tournament employee to the tabloid. According to the report, Becker does not have accreditation because he has not yet been able to present a valid visa for the USA. A visa was only recently applied for, according to official circles.
The problem: Becker is still on probation after his release from prison in Great Britain. Strict entry rules apply to people like him in the USA.
“Boris Becker will definitely comment today. In what form, we will announce at 5 p.m.,” said Björn Beinhauer, head of “Sportdeutschland.TV”, on “Bild” request.
Tennis: Boris Becker wants to start the US Open job “on time”.
Becker’s lawyer Oliver Moser said: “Of course, my client submitted his application for the necessary visa as soon as possible. However, the application has not yet been decided. Boris Becker will nevertheless start his presenting work on time from a television studio today. “
Becker will report together with commentator Matthias Stach from the match Dominic Thiem vs. Alexander Bublik, Moser announced to the “dpa”.
The assignment at the US Open should be Becker’s first TV job outside of Europe after his release from prison. It currently seems unlikely that he will actually be able to work in the USA as the tournament progresses.
Curious: In 2017, Becker was not allowed to enter the USA for an expert job at “Eurosport” on the occasion of the US Open. At that time, his work visa had expired.