Tennis legend unpacks
Boris Becker: “Prison shower? What happens in the films is true”
24.09.2025 – 3:18 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Boris Becker spent the majority of the year in the British prison in 2022. In doing so, he had to pay attention to whom he surrounds himself.
The German tennis legend Boris Becker spoke in detail about the time in prison in the “High Performance” podcast. “Whoever says it is easy in prison. It’s really hard,” he said. “I was not Boris Becker in prison. I was only allowed to get my lunch from 11 to 12 and at dinner between 4.30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. that was. You look at the floor and don’t look at anyone because you are afraid,” said Becker.
One of his greatest fears was showering in the dilapidated Wandsworth prison because he was concerned about being physically tackled there. The prison director advised him: “Be careful, choose the right group of people because the showers are closed from the inside and we all know what happens in the films.”
The prison attendants had no chance there to protect Becker. “What happens in the films is true,” emphasized the 57-year-old. The advice of the prison director to him: “Find the group with which you feel comfortable to take a shower together.” He spent a total of 231 days behind bars before he was released prematurely.
The former Wimbledon winner had already spoken several times over time in prison. At the beginning of September, he even published his book “Inside”, in which he worked up many topics from this time.
Boris Becker had been sentenced to two and a half years in prison in April 2022 because he had kept insolvency administrators for assets. After several months in prison, he was deported to Germany in December 2022.