Tennis great Boris Becker denies bankruptcy reports

Former tennis great Boris Becker has denied he is bankrupt and has sought a restraining order to stop the auction of his possessions.

The Telegraph reports that his attorneys have applied for a restraining order to prevent the sale of his belongings that include trophies he won at Wimbleton in the 1980s. Becker told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag tabloid, “Next week, my lawyers in England will apply for a restraining order to stop the auction. This auction is all about hurting me personally because of course I’m emotionally attached to the trophies.”

The sale will be conducted as an online auction this Thursday. Becker told The Mail On Sunday, “The whole world is asking, ‘How can you pay for dinner? How can you pay for your flat? We thought you were bankrupt. But as far as I’m concerned, I’ve paid all I owe.”

In applying for the restraining order Becker has claimed he has diplomatic immunity from the Central African Republic, (CAR) which grants him diplomatic immunity. CAR officials say it is fake an last Friday, the country’s foreign minister, Charles Armel Doubane, called Becker’s diplomatic passport a fake.

Memorabilia from Becker’s career is being auctioned online by Wyles Hardy & Co, the British company that also sold off possessions of disgraced financier Bernie Madoff.

On 23 June the Telegraph reported Becker was being urged to “remember” where some of his prized trophies were, after he claimed to have forgotten where he had put a few of his most valuable ones.

One of the trophies, awarded for Becker’s victory over Ivan Lendl in the 1986 Wimbledon final, was discovered in the care of Becker’s mother, who claims it was a “gift” from her son.

The UK firm of Smith & Williamson, which is handling the bankruptcy, said they had visited his German property to look for items they could auction off.