Ex-Wimbledon champion Becker declared bankrupt
LONDON: Former German tennis star Boris Becker was declared bankrupt by a court in London on Wednesday after failing to pay a “substantial” long-standing debt since 2015.
Lawyers for the three-time Wimbledon champion pleaded with a Bankruptcy Court registrar to allow Becker a “last chance” to pay off the debt.
But Registrar Christine Derrett ruled there was a lack of credible evidence the outstanding payment would be forthcoming and refused to adjourn the case. “One has the impression of a man with his head in the sand,” she said of the six-time Major champion after making the bankruptcy order.
The bankruptcy application was made by private bankers Arbuthnot Latham & Co in connection with a judgment debt owed them by Becker dating back to 2015. The German’s lawyers had argued there was sufficient evidence to show that he would be able to pay the debt soon through a refinancing arrangement, involving remortgaging a property in Mallorca.