New Apple TV+ documentary traces rise and fall of jailed tennis star Boris Becker

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The trailer for the upcoming documentary features a frank interview with tennis legend Boris Becker.
The trailer for the upcoming documentary features a frank interview with tennis legend Boris Becker.
Photo: Apple TV+

In a brief new trailer Apple TV+ dropped Thursday for an upcoming documentary, moist-eyed tennis legend Boris Becker more or less admits to the camera that his life might be as good as over. His sentencing took place just days later. He went to prison for hiding assets to avoid paying debts.

“It’s Wednesday afternoon,” Becker said in the interview. “Friday I will know the rest of my life.”

The interview footage, which you can watch at the link below, comes from an as-yet untitled, two-part film about Becker’s life made by two Oscar-winners — director Alex Gibney and producer John Battsek.

New Apple TV+ documentary-series looks at life of tennis legend Boris Becker

Apple TV+ said filmmakers Gibney (Enron, The Armstrong Lie) and Battsek (One Day in September, Searching for Sugar Man) had “more than three years of exclusive access to Becker” before his sentencing in April 2022 to two-and-a half-years in prison.

Becker, from Germany, became a star at the age of 17 after winning Wimbledon. Then he went on to capture 49 titles in his career, among them an Olympic gold medal and six Grand Slam tournaments. But he also became known for his “high profile, sometimes tumultuous personal life,” Apple TV+ said.

Here’s how the streaming service describes the documentary — no release date yet — and those who appear in it:

The Oscar-winning filmmakers have had special access to Becker for more than three years, until late April 2022, when he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for hiding assets and loans to avoid paying his debts. The series features a series of personal interviews with Becker, including an exclusive conversation with the champion the week of his sentencing, alongside members of his immediate family and tennis stars including John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Novak Djokovic, Mats Wilander and Michael Stich.

Battsek’s Ventureland and Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions co-produce the documentary, alongside Lorton Entertainment, which worked on Asif Kapadia’s BAFTA Award-nominated Diego Maradona, about the soccer legend, and Matt Smith’s recent documentary Rooney about English soccer star Wayne Rooney.

Watch the teaser trailer for the upcoming Boris Becker documentary on Apple TV+.

Other Apple TV+ sports documentaries

Apple TV+ said the new documentary joins a host of current and upcoming “nonfiction programming featuring the biggest names in sports” on the streaming service. Projects include:

  • A documentary about the life and career of seven-time Formula One racing champion Sir Lewis Hamilton.
  • The documentary film Underrated features NBA star Stephen Curry.
  • The Emmy Award-nominated four-part documentary series They Call Me Magic covers the life of two-time NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
  • The Dynasty, a documentary series about the New England Patriots, comes from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries and NFL Films.
  • The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball covers basketball sensation Makur Maker.
  • Documentary series Make or Break features top surfers as they compete in the World Surf League Championship Tour.
  • Greatness Code, a short-form unscripted series directed by Gotham Chopra, now in its second season.

Apple TV+ is available by subscription for $6.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle.

After first airing in November 2019, “Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 299 wins and 1,279 award nominations and counting,” the service said.

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