In just under two weeks, a new documentary about the sporting career and private life of Boris Becker (55) will be released, in which the German tennis legend also has his say. A new trailer shows that in addition to his successes on the court and his prison sentence, the relationship with his ex-wife Barbara Becker (56) is also discussed. “Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker” will be released on April 7th on the Apple TV streaming service.
“Nobody told me to win Wimbledon when I was 17. I just did it,” says the former tennis player. He had become a “superstar in sport” and was now “a wanted man”. Tennis icon John McEnroe (64) apparently describes Becker’s popularity as follows: “He was like Michael Jordan in Germany.” But “since then, life has been a challenge,” continues in the approximately one-minute clip.
“Taking a black woman as a wife was a big deal,” says Barbara Becker meanwhile. In the German press landscape at the time, this was a “black and white thing”. She married Boris Becker in 1993. In the following year their son Noah was born, and in 1999 their second son Elias. The divorce followed in 2001. And Becker also seems to be talking about Angela Ermakova, with whom he has his illegitimate daughter Anna (23), in the documentary, which, according to a press release, will show his “sometimes turbulent private life”.
“The wake-up call came very late,” says Becker in the trailer. In what context exactly is unclear. At least he will also talk about his imprisonment in the two-part documentary. The former athlete was convicted of delaying bankruptcy in England in April 2022. He was released at the end of the year and left for Germany. According to the announcement, footage from several interviews with Becker can be seen in the production, including one from the week before the conviction.
“I think I’ve grown up a bit, washed with all waters, and hopefully I’ve gotten a little smarter, which is reflected in the decisions I make professionally and privately. I’m looking forward to a rosy future,” Becker said recently told Britain’s The Telegraph. In the trailer he now says to a shot in which he smiles mischievously: “It’s not the end yet. There will be another chapter.”
“Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker” celebrated its world premiere at the Berlinale. For him it was “a privilege and a challenge” to make this film, of which he was “very proud”, said Becker at a press conference in February. Responsible for the documentary are producer John Battsek (59) and director Alex Gibney (69), who is now working on a documentary about Elon Musk (51), the man behind Tesla, Twitter and SpaceX.
