Few sports stars have reached the pinnacle of Boris Becker’s tennis career – and none younger than the German superstar.
Born in Leimen, western Germany, in 1967, Becker entered the world of tennis from a young age.
His mother was a Czech immigrant while his father, an architect, established a tennis center in the city where Becker honed his skills early on.
At the age of ten, he was a member of the junior team of the Baden Tennis Association.
He won the Southern German Championships and the first German Junior Tennis Championships.
After winning training funding from the German Tennis Association, he turned professional at the age of 16, winning the NEC World Youth Tennis title in Birmingham in 1985, before claiming victory at Queen’s in June.
In July 1985, aged 17, he entered Wimbledon as an unseeded player and captured the tournament by defeating Kevin Curren in four sets in the final.
Two weeks later, he entered Wimbledon as an unseeded player and took the tournament firmly – beating Kevin Curren in four sets in the final.
At just 17 years and 228 days old, he became the youngest SW19 men’s singles champion — and instantly became a household name.
The following year he defended his title by defeating then world number one Ivan Lendl to secure back-to-back Wimbledon titles.
He appeared in 77 finals and won 49 singles titles during his 16 years as a tennis professional.
But by 1993, facing criticism over his marriage to his wife Barbara and tax problems with the German government, Becker slipped into a sharp mid-career decline.
In 1997, Becker lost to Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. After that match, he vowed never to play at Wimbledon again.
However, he returned once again to the prestigious West London Tennis Club in 1999, this time losing in the fourth round to Patrick Rafter.
Off the field, his personal problems continued. He had to pay £2.4 million after fathering a daughter, Anna, with a Russian model while married to his wife, Barbara.
The incident occurred after he left Wimbledon for Rafter in 1999 and decided to retire from the sport at the age of 31.
In his 2003 autobiography Stay A Moment Longer, Baker revealed how he “took my eyes out” and felt the need to go out for a few beers with friends.
However, his wife Barbara, seven months pregnant with her second son, wanted him to stay with her at the hotel.
But by 1993, facing criticism over his marriage to his wife Barbara and tax problems with the German government, Becker slipped into a sharp mid-career decline.
“She couldn’t and wouldn’t understand that suddenly she wasn’t my number one priority,” Baker said.
“I said, ‘Just one more time with the lads, Barbara, just one more time to say goodbye and then just you.’ It didn’t work. We rowed for two full hours. Suddenly I felt pain and decided to go into the hospital.”
Baker said he told his wife to call him if the baby was really on its way, and then hit town.
By 11pm, he was at the bar at Nobu in Mayfair and spotted Russian model Angela Irmaqua. The husband had sex on the stairs.
The following February his secretary handed him a fax at his Munich office. It read: “Dear Herr Becker, we met at Nobu in London. The outcome of this meeting has been eight months now.”
He later separated from his first wife – a divorce estimated to have cost him more than £15 million, as well as their home in Miami.
Baker found a new post-tennis purpose soon after, joining the BBC for their annual coverage of Wimbledon – to great success.
But his personal problems continued. He had a brief engagement to Alessandra Meyer-Folden in 2008, before announcing that he would marry Dutch model Charli “Lili” Kersenberg in 2009.
After nine years of marriage and having a child – Baker’s fourth – the couple split in 2018.
A year ago, Becker was declared bankrupt in June 2017 due to an unpaid loan of more than £3m on his property in Mallorca, Spain.
His former business partner, Hans-Dieter Kleven, has also claimed the former tennis player owes him more than £30m – although the case has been dismissed by a Swiss court.