Boris Becker has been banned from entering the UK since 2022 but the tennis legend is still hoping to return to Wimbledon in the near future
Boris Becker has confirmed he’s still locked in talks with the Home Office to end his ban from the United Kingdom(Image: AFP Contributor, AFP via Getty Images)
Wimbledon icon Boris Becker has revealed he’s still in talks with the Home Office to get his UK ban overturned. The tennis legend, who won Wimbledon three times in a four-year period, was deported from Britain in December 2022 after completing eight months of a 30-month prison term for tax evasion and concealing assets.
The 2026 edition of Wimbledon will mark the fifth consecutive year that Becker has been unable to attend the tournament dearest to him. Previously a regular presence at the Grand Slam he ruled during the late 1980s, he has been compelled to follow from a distance in recent years, having monitored the 2022 event from his cell before being returned to Germany.
“I don’t think I miss London, but I miss Wimbledon,” he told The Telegraph ahead of this year’s tournament. “It’s my birthplace, in a sense. I feel so close to the club, to the courts.
“I have a story on every court, in every corner, in the locker room, in the car park. I probably know Wimbledon better than anyone else alive.”
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Becker confirmed discussions with the Home Office are continuing to end his UK ban in the same interview. The 58-year-old had previously indicated he was hoping to return to SW19 for the 2025 tournament, yet he remains barred from entering the country.
The conditions of Becker’s exclusion aren’t entirely known, though it was indicated at the time of his discharge from custody it could extend up to 10 years. The tennis legend has said that’s not the case, however, and that it’s wholly down to the UK government.
“The 10 years not going back [to the UK] is rubbish, it’s not true,” he told The Telegraph in April 2024. “For me, after October 2024, [I can be] given permission from the Home Office. They decide, I don’t decide.”
Wimbledon icon Becker hasn’t attended the tournament in person since 2021(Image: Getty)
Needless to say the Home Office’s position on his circumstances has been apparent up until now. Wimbledon 2027 will represent five years since Becker’s sentencing and the midpoint in that suggested decade-long ban.
Becker’s influence on SW19 extends beyond his own accomplishments. As a coach, his most prominent period was collaborating with Novak Djokovic between December 2013 and December 2016, during which Djokovic claimed six majors, including two of three Wimbledon Championships.
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While he may not have the same affection for the UK itself, Becker’s lasting passion for Wimbledon is evident. So too is his resolve to ride out his current difficulties and return to the venue of his greatest victories.
That reunion won’t happen in 2026 as Becker is once more forced to watch the proceedings unfold from afar, most probably from his new home in Milan. However, the wheels are firmly in motion to cement a return at his home away from home.
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