Boris Becker Australia? It wouldn't have been possible… · tennisnet.com

Boris Becker will Holkar Rune The site in Melbourne will not be overlooked at the Australian Open. But how voluntary is this constellation? Did Becker, a previously convicted ex-convict, have another choice? No chance…

Boris Becker's justification for not looking after Holger Rune in Melbourne sounded – shall we say: rather deliberate – from the outset. Sponsorship meetings, TV commitments and whatever: you can't travel the world with a tennis pro all year round. Boris Becker's explanation for the lack of Down Under is roughly this. Besides the fact that many interns are capable of directly caring for their protégés year-round, Boris differs from other interns in another important factor: other interns are not in prison and are sentenced to years in prison.

Boris is following in the footsteps of Novak Djokovic

It is literally impossible to enter Australia with legal luggage – our editor's lawyer confirmed. Immigration authorities in Australia will refuse entry if the prison sentence exceeds 12 months – regardless of whether it has been served or not. The final decision is made by the immigration officer at the airport, but they are often stricter than the advance officers.

Boris Becker would have threatened the fate of his former protégé Novak Djokovic, who had already arrived at an airport in Australia in 2022, but was later denied entry into the country. The rest of this judicial hiccup is well known. Neither Boris Becker nor the rest of Holger Rune's team had any interest in this situation.

Becker is only allowed to advance to one Grand Slam tournament

With the doors closed on him in Australia, Becker has now been unable to overlook his player in three of his four Grand Slams. Under no circumstances was he allowed to go to England – hence Wimbledon. He was finally convicted there and deported only if he agreed not to re-enter the country until serving his sentence. Becker was barred from entering the United States for the 2023 US Open in New York because of his prison sentence. That leaves the French Open as the only Grand Slam where he could come up with a run.

Not a good ratio for a coach who wants to be a super coach again.

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Djokovic Novak

Rune Holger Notskov