Boris Becker
He was born Boris Franz Becker in Leimen, near Heidelberg, the only son of Karl-Heinz, an architect, who built the tennis center where Becker and Steffi Graf played against each other as children. On July 1, 1985, he became the first unseeded player, the first German, and the youngest man (17 years, 7 months) to win Wimbledon. Becker won 49 titles, including Wimbledon (1985, 1986, 1989), the Australian Open (1991, 1996) and the U.S. Open (1989), plus 15 doubles titles, and 2 Davis Cups. He also won the 1992 Olympic Men's tennis doubles title with Michael Stich. His career prize earnings was $21,966,402.
On December 17, 1993, he married Barbara Feltus, the daughter of an African-American serviceman and a German woman. After the shock of their coupling faded, they became the model for a New Germany. Becker gained the respect of his countrymen for his stance against racism and intolerance. However, all that changed when he asked for a separation. Becker claims he merely wanted some time out. But, Barbara flew to Miami, Florida with their sons, Noah and Elias, and filed a petition in Miami-Dade County Court, sidestepping their prenup, which entitled her to a $2.5 million payoff. The January 2001 pretrial hearing was broadcast live to Germany. Germans sided with Barbara as her lawyer, whom Becker was paying, made him out to be a cad. He was granted a divorce on January 15, 2001; she got a $14.4 million settlement, their Florida condo, and custody of Noah and Elias.
His life has since been plagued by scandal. On February 8, 2001, DNA results forced him to admit paternity of a daughter, Anna (b. March 22, 2000), by Russian-African model Angela Ermakova. The child was conceived in a London restaurant cupboard after a drunken Becker fought with Barbara; Ermakova was a waitress there. His lawyers first suggested she was part of a blackmail plot devised by the Russian Mafia. In July 2001, he agreed to pay $5 million.
He was convicted of tax evasion on October 24, 2002 when he admitted he had lived in Germany from 1991-93 while claiming to reside in the tax haven of Monte Carlo. He was given two years' probation, fined $500,000, and ordered to pay all court costs.
He plays on the Senior ATP Tour. His tell-all autobiography was published in November 2003. Becker is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.