Boris Becker is back in the limelight – not on the tennis court or in a courtroom, but at the Berlinale. This is where his documentary “Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker” premieres. In the two-parter, the 55-year-old also makes a moving confession.
At the age of 17, Boris Becker became an international superstar overnight. In 1985 he won the most important tennis tournament in the world in Wimbledon and from then on he was in the public eye. Apparently, the hustle and bustle became too much for the young Becker as a result.
In his new documentary “Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker”, which premiered at the Berlinale and will be shown on the Apple TV streaming service in April, the 55-year-old even admits that he was addicted to tablets during this time. In the two-parter Becker explains: “In 1987 I could no longer deal with the pressure of constantly having to deliver and win.”
According to the former tennis player, he traveled from tournament to tournament, constantly suffered from jet lag and could no longer switch off. At some point he couldn’t sleep anymore either: “After two long years I was exhausted.” He was advised by a doctor to take light sleeping pills to feel good again. But: “They were strong and addictive.”
After five or six hours, he didn’t wake up recovered, but felt “dizzy” and at some point couldn’t sleep without the pills, says Becker. “Without the pills, I was up at night. I was talking to people, going out, drinking. I wasn’t living the life of a professional athlete.”
A lost Wimbledon final was later the reason for his rethinking, Becker explains. In 1990 he dueled with his eternal rival Stefan Edberg in his so-called living room, the center court of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. “I took my last pill at five in the morning. I woke up at 11:30 a.m. completely dazed, the game started at 2 p.m.,” reports Becker in his documentary.
After losing two first sets, Becker improved over the course of the game, but in the end he still lost the duel. “I just thought: ‘You stupid idiot. You could have beaten him.'” Looking back, however, it was “a moment to wake up” for him: “Right after the final I threw the sleeping pills out the window,” says Becker.
However, his ex-wife Barbara tells the story a little differently. She also has her say in the documentary. “Drugs were always the devil for me. I never understood why Boris took the pills either,” she explains, adding: “I just knew that he didn’t really want it, so I flushed them down the toilet.” She asks the room: “Does he tell the story differently?”
In fact, Boris Becker’s version also differs in terms of the timeline. He said he quit the pills two years earlier than his ex-wife remembers. He also provides an explanation for this: “If you were a part of my life, you form your own picture of the things that happened and you are convinced that this is the truth,” explains Boris Becker and adds: “Yes I do was the one who needed the sleeping pills. So I guess I know very well when I took a pill and when I didn’t.”
(This article was first published on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.)
