‘You’ve Got To Stop..’ – Tennis Legend Boris Becker Reveals Serious Addiction That Cost Him Greatly

The German tennis icon Boris Becker had a wonderful career in the world of tennis. Early on during his time on the ATP Tour, Becker cemented his position as the youngest player to win the prestigious Wimbledon Championships at the age of seventeen in 1985. Despite several ups and downs in his personal life, Becker managed to win 6 singles Major titles, 43 other singles titles, and 15 doubles titles. Recently, the legendary player came up with the second part of his documentary named ‘Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker’ on Apple TV. In the docuseries, he has openly talked about his personal and professional life, including the ugly side of his controversies so far.

Boris Becker revealed his addiction to sleeping pills

The 55-year-old talked about getting involved in multiple controversies in his recently released docuseries on AppleTV. In 1987, Becker confessed to his addiction to sleeping pills and how it prevented him from winning his fourth Wimbledon title. Later, after he couldn’t make it to the finals at Wimbledon, he claimed that he stopped consuming it. He said, “In ’87 I couldn’t cope with the pressures anymore, I couldn’t sleep. I had two long years where my mind would stop.”

As Becker was going through difficult times, he claimed that the German team doctor prescribed the sleeping pill to get rid of the anxiety. However, the former player learned the pills were super addictive that left him exhausted throughout. He also claimed that the sleeping pills made him sluggish.

After taking the pills, Becker couldn’t make it to practice and the aftereffects stopped him from performing his best. He said, “Well, it’s very addictive, and it’s very strong and you don’t wake up after five, six hours fresh, you feel like you’re in a haze. And it made me sleep to a point where I just couldn’t sleep without it.”

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After the heavy loss against rival Stefan Edberg in the 1988 Wimbledon Championships final, Becker had a self-reflection and realized his mistake of consuming sleeping pills on match day.

He claimed, “I must have sweat enough, I’d woken up. I come back, I am up 4-1 in the fifth set. I get nervous. He ends up winning 6-4. I said, ‘you stupid idiot, you could’ve beaten him earlier. You’ve got to stop the sleeping pills, it’s not going to get you anywhere.”

Post the Wimbledon finals, Becker threw the last pack of sleeping pills outside the window to get rid of the addiction. He continued, “So that was the match that, thankfully I lost. I remember soon after I had my last package I threw it out the window.

Do you think the sleeping pills stopped Becker from realizing his potential on the ATP Tour? Share your opinions in the comment section.

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