Boris Becker recounts jail threat and the inmate alliances that protected him

Boris Becker says a violent encounter in Huntercombe prison left him fearing for his life, and that he was saved by inmate alliances forged during his sentence.

In an extract from his forthcoming memoir, Becker recounts how a new arrival, identified in the book as "Zac," confronted him in a corridor and shouted that he would "slit [his] throat" and "kill [him]." Becker writes that other prisoners — in particular a neighbour he calls Ike, whom he describes as a major drug dealer, and a Sri Lankan inmate referred to as Shuggy — intervened and physically shielded him from further attack.

Becker, the former Wimbledon champion, was serving two-and-a-half years for offences under the Insolvency Act and had been transferred to Huntercombe, the prison for foreign national men near Henley-on-Thames, after initial weeks at Wandsworth. He writes that overcrowding in British prisons led to a scheme offering foreign nationals early release by deportation once they had served half their sentence; accepting deportation would allow him to be with his partner, Lilian, for Christmas.

In the memoir, Becker describes a build-up of tensions inside the wing. He says he joined a poker game with a group of Romanian inmates in September 2022 and, after playing with matchsticks, was told he owed £500. He writes that a Romanian inmate he calls Bogdan, described as having killed two men when he was 18, warned him that the group's leader was "a little crazy." Becker says he arranged for money to be transferred to settle the debt and that the poker games ended.

The threat that left him fearing for his life came later, Becker writes, when he returned from lunch to find Zac in a neighbour's cell. Becker says he confronted Zac, who responded by advancing at him and shouting threats including: "I'm going to f*** you up. I'm going to break your head. I'm going to slit your throat. I'm going to kill you." Becker describes the immediate arrival of other inmates who formed a human barrier and told him to return to his cell while they handled the situation.

Becker says he remained afraid in the days that followed. He writes that Ike later explained Zac had served many years in Belmarsh prison and had "lost his head" to incarceration. Three days after the confrontation, Becker says, Zac knelt and repeatedly apologised, partly to demonstrate submission to Ike's authority. Becker writes that he then played chess with Zac and allowed him to win as a way of defusing risk and accepting the informal rules of the wing.

In the book, Becker details how informal prisoner hierarchies and reciprocal protection shaped daily life at Huntercombe. He recounts doing gym work under a warden who taught a Stoicism course, sharing food and chores with inmates, and how those relationships offered both danger and refuge. Becker describes Shuggy acting as his barber and Ike organising clandestine gestures of support, such as assembling a birthday cake while he was incarcerated.

Becker also recounts attempts by high-profile friends to visit. He says Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp sought to visit but was refused by prison authorities twice because of the publicity the visit would attract; they instead spoke by phone. Becker writes that he received many letters while inside and that the wardens grew to resent the volume of post.

He describes a moment of camaraderie on his 55th birthday when several inmates surprised him with three homemade cakes and a handmade card, an event he says helped shift his outlook as he contemplated life after prison. Becker writes that the experience, combined with his study of Stoicism and time in the gym, prompted him to resolve to change his life.

Becker gives a detailed account of his departure from Huntercombe. He says he accepted deportation and was given a departure date; on the morning of the transfer he was escorted to Biggin Hill airport, met his partner Lilian in a small departure room and flew to Germany. Becker writes that the plane landed in Stuttgart rather than Munich or Frankfurt, where large numbers of media were awaiting his arrival, and that two German border officers met them and said, "welcome home, Mr Becker."

The former player writes that he and Lilian later moved to Italy and married on the Italian Riviera; the memoir includes reflections on how public scrutiny after release shaped their decisions about where to live.

Becker's account includes broader reflections on prison life, the power dynamics among inmates, and how those dynamics influenced his behaviour and decisions while incarcerated. He puts the encounters in the context of his sentence and the personal and professional decline that culminated in his imprisonment, and describes efforts to rebuild after release.

The extract is adapted from Inside by Boris Becker (HarperCollins), to be published Sept. 25.