After 230 days behind bars, Boris Becker's difficult time in British prisons is over. The 55-year-old former tennis star, who has been jailed since April, can rebuild his life as a free man after arriving in Germany.

"Our client Boris Becker was released from custody in England and left for Germany today," confirmed Becker's lawyer Christian-Oliver Moser on Thursday afternoon: "He has served his sentence and is not subject to any criminal restrictions in Germany." He asked that he refrain from further inquiries "for reasons of privacy protection". Questions about Becker's whereabouts and any interview requests would not be answered either.

Becker benefits from overcrowding in English prisons

The six-time Grand Slam winner has benefited from a trial designed to ease the pressure on Britain's overcrowded prisons and will not have to serve the remainder of his sentence. Most recently he was in Huntercombe near Oxford, according to the Bild newspaper he was released around 8 a.m. on Thursday and then taken to the airport. The former world number one can now spend Christmas with his mother Elvira (87) and girlfriend Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro (42).

In the spring, Becker was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, of which he was originally supposed to serve at least 15 months. He had been accused of offenses in his insolvency proceedings, which had been ongoing since 2017. It was about sums in the millions, an alleged concealment of possessions and debts. Becker had always emphasized that he had not broken any laws.

Documentation at Apple+

Now he left his adopted country, where he has lived since 2012, as part of the so-called "fast track process". According to the Daily Mail, it's a practice used on more than 1,100 convicts in 2020 and 2021. Now also with the former German sports star, who, according to experts, also has to add large parts of future income to the bankruptcy estate in Germany.

It is not yet known what Beckers intends to do when he is free again. But the interest in his story is enormous. The streaming service Apple+ announced a two-part documentary and showed first impressions.

In it, Becker speaks into the camera with red eyes, apparently shortly before the sentence is announced in April. "I've reached my lowest point," says Becker in a shaky voice: "I don't know how to deal with it. I'll face it and not hide or run away." He will accept his punishment: "It is now Wednesday afternoon. On Friday I will know the rest of my life."

Doors at the DTB are open

Beyond the documentary, rumors persist that Becker, who conquered millions of fan hearts with his Wimbledon triumph in 1985 as a 17-year-old, wants to express himself in a larger TV interview. Before the severe break, he had worked as a television expert for Eurosport and the British BBC. The Leimen resident gave up his position as Head of Men's Tennis in the German Tennis Association at the end of 2020.

However, DTB Vice President Dirk Hordorff has already announced that the association can imagine engaging the former star. "The doors at the DTB are always open to Boris Becker," said Hordorff: "Once he's served his sentence, there's nothing to prevent him from taking on a role again." The imperative of resocialization applies to everyone, including Becker, who is now a free man again.