Boris Becker 'could land a cushy prison gym instructor role'

Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker could work as a gym instructor in prison after he was slapped with a two-and-a-half year jail term for hiding £2.5million of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts.

Becker, 54, arrived at HMP Wandsworth on Friday, a category B prison just 2.4 miles from Centre Court where he won three tennis titles after receiving his 30-month sentence - of which he will likely serve just half - at Southwark Crown Court earlier in the day.

A former governor of the prison said the disgraced tennis star would make a good gym instructor, should he be interested in taking on a working role while in jail.  

Jerry Petherick told The Sun: 'Gyms are very popular in prisons - it's a job a lot of prisoners want.' 

But it is unlikely that Becker will be able to step into such a role any time soon.

New inmates taken into Wandsworth prison are forced to remain in the lockup's 'induction wing' for seven to ten days upon arrival due to ongoing Covid restrictions.

Becker may then be transferred to general population, but new inmates would typically need to be in the prison for at least six weeks, showing good behaviour, before being considered for worker roles.

Wandsworth is also a remand prison used to temporarily detain criminals who are later transferred to serve their sentences elsewhere, meaning the likelihood of Becker serving the entirety of his jail-term there is slim. 

The ex-pro sportsman was found to have hidden £2.5million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts, and on Friday begun his sentence of which he has to serve a minimum of one year and three months.

He was declared bankrupt in June 2017, owing creditors almost £50million over an unpaid loan of more than £3million on his estate