Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker has been jailed for two and a half years for hiding £2.5m worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.
The 54-year-old six-time Grand Slam champion was found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act.
The case centred on Becker’s bankruptcy in June 2017 resulting from an unpaid loan of more than £3m on his luxury estate in Mallorca, Spain.
Judge Deborah Taylor said he had shown no remorse or acceptance of guilt.
Referring to Becker’s previous conviction for tax evasion in Germany in 2002, she told Becker: “You did not heed the warning you were given and the chance you were given by the suspended sentence and that is a significant aggravating factor…
“You have… sought to distance yourself from your offending and your bankruptcy.
“While I accept your humiliation as part of the proceedings, there has been no humility.”
Earlier this month, after about two weeks hearing evidence, jurors found Becker guilty of removal of property, two counts of failing to disclose estate and concealing debt.
They acquitted him on a further 20 charges, including nine counts of failing to hand over his tennis trophies and medals, including two from Wimbledon.
Becker’s barrister Jonathan Laidlaw QC told the court the tennis star’s “fall from grace” had left “his reputation in tatters”.
He said: “Boris Becker has literally nothing and there is also nothing to show for what was the most glittering of sporting careers and that is correctly termed as nothing short of a tragedy.
“These proceedings have destroyed his career entirely and ruined any further prospect of earning an income.”