As a tennis player, Boris Becker never failed to enrapture global fans with his ferocious serves and tremendous charisma.

He rose to stardom as early as 1985 at the age of 17 when he became the youngest singles male player to win the Wimbledon, and then went on to clinch a further five Grand Slam titles, cementing his status as one of the all-time greats.  

However, the former world number one, who retired from the game in 1999, is currently dominating the headlines again for all the wrong reasons. 

Earlier this month, Becker was found guilty of four offenses under the Insolvency Act relating to his 2017 bankruptcy. And on Friday, the German was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for illegally hiding millions of pounds worth of assets to avoid paying his debts.

The 54-year-old Becker, who was legally obliged to disclose all his assets after declaring bankrupt, was convicted of failing to declare a property in Germany and hiding an 825,000 euro ($871,000) bank loan and shares in a tech firm.

He has denied all the charges, stressing that he had cooperated with trustees tasked with securing his assets and had acted on expert advice.

Judge Deborah Taylor, who handed down the sentence, said Becker had shown no remorse or acceptance of guilt. "You have... sought to distance yourself from your offending and your bankruptcy," she observed. "While I accept your humiliation as part of the proceedings, there has been no humility."

The stance was echoed by prosecutor Rebecca Chalkley, who said the jury had found Becker had acted "deliberately and dishonestly," and "played the system with bad faith."

"Becker was selective in the declaration of his assets. When it suited him, he made full disclosure; when it didn't, he didn't." fumed Chalkley. "Even now, Mr Becker is still seeking to blame others when it was obviously his duty." 

Becker turned his hand to coaching after retirement. He has coached current world number one Novak Djokovic and their partnership of three years produced six major titles and 122 consecutive weeks on the top for the Serbian superstar.

Becker's barrister Jonathan Laidlaw QC told the court the tennis great's "fall from grace" had left "his reputation in tatters".

"Boris Becker has literally nothing and there is also nothing to show for what was the most glittering of sporting careers and that is correctly termed as nothing short of a tragedy," he stated. "These proceedings have destroyed his career entirely and ruined any further prospect of earning an income."

"He will not be able to find work and will have to rely on the charity of others if he is to survive."