Boris Becker commentates on Wimbledon from bar on Instagram due to ban

Boris Becker has been forced to commentate on the action at Wimbledon from a dimly-lit bar on his mobile phone, with the disgraced former champion banned from entering the UK until October next year. Becker was jailed last year for hiding millions of pounds in assets to avoid paying his debts and served eight months of his two-and-a-half-year sentence before he was released in December

Becker was deported from the UK upon his release and will not be allowed to return for another 15 months, which has prevented him from attending Wimbledon in his usual commentary role this year. He has instead been running the rule over the action via his mobile phone, with the 55-year-old offering his view on Stefanos Tsitsipas from what appeared to be a bar in an Instagram video.

He also invited fans to send in questions about his personal life, saying in the video: “If you have any questions around Wimbledon, what to do and what not to do and anything else you ever wanted to know about Boris Becker regarding his tennis career, and his favourite dishes and so on, just ask.”

Becker, who now lives in Italy, had been a regular pundit and co-commentator at Wimbledon for the BBC before he was jailed last April. He began his sentence at HMP Wandsworth, situated just a few miles away from the All England Club, before moving to HMP Huntercombe to complete the rest of his stint behind bars.

The three-time Wimbledon champion later admitted that he hated prison life but revealed that he managed to form strong bonds with some of his fellow inmates, who he is planning on staying in contact with following his release after eight months.

“It’s extremely full, extremely dirty, extremely dangerous, murderers, sex offenders, drug dealers, you meet all types,” said Becker in an interview with German channel Sat1 in December. “You go out of your cell and you have to look after your own skin because the guards don’t do it for you.

“Prison is a different world. You are all the same. It sounds strange, you are so dependent on each other. I will keep contact with some of the prisoners. We needed each other, we really supported each other.”

Becker also revealed that he was scared for the majority of his time behind bars and that he struggled to eat properly out of fear that his food had been tarnished by other prisoners, adding: “I went to bed hungry for the first time in my life. I was scared at the food distribution. What did the prisoner do in front of or behind me?

“For weeks I did not eat very much until I organised myself better. There was no alcohol, there was moonshine but it was much too strong and dangerous. I also didn’t smoke but in prison you smoke vapes. Prison certainly helped my health.”

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