Boris Becker: The Rise & Fall: First-look details tennis star’s downfall with never-before-seen footage

Virgin Radio

5 Jul 2023, 10:09

The life of tennis champion Boris Becker is at the centre of a brand new ITVX documentary series that promises to show the disgraced sportsman in a way we’ve never seen before. 

Boris Becker: The Rise & Fall, which will be available on the streaming platform from 13th July, will dive into the inside story behind one of tennis’ biggest stars, and how his actions led to his very public downfall involving bankruptcy and prison. 

The tennis star was only 17 when he won Wimbledon for the first time, and his fame quickly grew as he was handed deal after deal, and eventually bought up luxury homes around the globe. 

The Rise & Fall will detail Boris’ life from those who know him best, including tennis champs Pat Cash, Tim Mayotte, Kevin Curren as well as Boris’s first coach Gunther Bosch. 

Estranged wife Sharlely Becker and former fiancee Alessandra Meyer-Wölden also have their say, with Sharlely detailing the rather colourful life the former couple shared.

In ITVX’s first-look at the two part series, Sharlely confessed: “Boris used to hide horses in the bedroom because you have to pay taxes on the horses, and he hadn’t paid the taxes. You’d walk into the bedroom

and there was a horse.”

“There is something about this guy. He is sweet, he is kind, he is funny. But he’s also arrogant. He's a liar,” she continued.

Meanwhile, fellow Wimbledon winner Pat Cash said Boris’ story was almost destined to end up in catastrophe.

He explained: “Superstars that have been big when they are kids - it’s almost a disaster waiting to happen. Your mind is developing, your values are developing, your subconscious is changing. It’s got to change almost the chemistry in your brain, to have something like that happen to you at such a young age.”

The official ITVX synopsis says: “Featuring rare and previously unseen archive and brand new interviews with those closest to him, the series builds a character study of the German tennis prodigy from his earliest days as Wimbledon’s youngest ever champion in 1985 through to the present day.  The story will be set against the background of a golden era for tennis - a time of hedonism, big bucks and even bigger characters. 

“It was a perfect storm of media exposure and money, into which walked the 17-year-old Becker from a small town in Germany.”

Boris Becker: The Rise & Fall is available to stream on ITVX from Thursday 13 July.