Bankruptcy for Boris Becker

London’s The Telegraph newspaper reports former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker was declared bankrupt Wednesday.

The 49-year-old is the former coach of Novak Djokovic, and an ambassador for a poker company.

As the German gets ready to take on a high profile role as an analyst during Wimbledon for the BBC and other outlets, it probably doesn’t come at the best time for his professional image.

“He should have thought about that a long time ago,” the judge in the case said.

The declaration came in the Bankruptcies and Companies Court in London. It concerns a debt owed to a London private bank that has been outstanding for 20 months.

The next step is to have Becker’s assets liquidated to pay his creditors. The amount of the debt was not disclosed, but was described as “substantial”.

*Becker will have all this hanging over his head as he prepares for plenty of camera time during Wimbledon. He has a home in the area. (Stephanie Myles/Tennis.Life)*

Becker issued a statement, also broken down into multiple Tweets for his 656,000 Twitter followers (read bottom to top).

Becker’s attorneys asked for the proceeding to be postponed a month, so that he could remortgage a property he owns in Mallorca to help pay off the debt.

His lawyer said, of his 49-year-old client, “He is not a sophisticated individual when it comes to finances.”

Not the first money miscue

The Telegraph story outlines many of Becker’s previous financial … misadventures. They include a tax evasion conviction and divorce and paternity suits. There also was Dubai real-estate venture named after him that went belly-up. As well, a host of contractors” bills related to the construction of his Mallorca home reportedly were unpaid.

Becker has five children with three different women, including two wives.

The judge didn’t find the evidence that Becker would repay the money in short order credible enough to issue a stay.

“One has the impression of a man with his head in the sand,” she said.