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Boris Becker discharged from bankruptcy: lawyer

Former German tennis star Boris Becker has been discharged from bankruptcy by a London court following a deal with his debtors, the 56-year-old's German lawyer said Thursday.

"As a result of an agreement with his insolvency administrators, Boris Becker's bankruptcy, which began in 2017, was legally terminated by a decision by the High Court in London yesterday," Becker's Berlin-based lawyer said in a statement sent to AFP.

"Becker is released from any further liability arising from the insolvency debts."

Becker's lawyer said the former tennis player had come to an agreement with insolvency administrators but that the details of the agreement would remain confidential "at this time".

The three-time Wimbledon winner was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in April 2022 for concealing £2.5 million ($3.1 million) in assets and loans to avoid paying debts.

Becker was released in December of the same year under a UK regulation for foreign prisoners and subsequently deported to Germany.

He had been declared bankrupt in June 2017, owing creditors £50 million over an unpaid loan of more than £3 million on his estate on the Spanish island of Majorca.

At just 17, the dynamic redhead became the youngest male Wimbledon winner.

Nicknamed "Boom Boom" Becker for his powerful serve, he repeated the feat the following year and won a third title in 1989.

Becker finished his career with six grand slams, adding two Australian Open crowns and a US Open title.

After his playing career, Becker moved into punditry including with the BBC, before coaching Novak Djokovic to six grand slam titles between 2014 and 2016.

During his retirement however, his achievements were often overshadowed by his colourful and controversial private life, both during his playing career and afterwards.

He released his first autobiography, The Player, in 2003, which made headlines with booze-soaked tales of luxury hotels and a string of female conquests.

Becker conceived a daughter in a brief but now famous encounter with a Russian woman at a London restaurant in 1999 while his then wife, Barbara, was pregnant.

Despite estimated career earnings of £40 million as a player, Becker -- who received a suspended sentence by a Munich court in 2002 for tax evasion -- was declared bankrupt in 2017.
Source: AFP