Boris Becker's 1989 US Open men's singles trophy -- the only known US Open men's singles trophy from the Open era to hit public auction -- sold for $357,546 (including buyer's premium) with The Tennis Auction on Sunday, the most ever paid for a tennis trophy.
It's the second-most expensive item of tennis memorabilia ever sold behind Novak Djokovic's 2012 Australian Open-winning racket, which went for $540,000 in February.
In 1989, Becker won Wimbledon and the US Open and helped West Germany claim its second consecutive Davis Cup. He was named the ATP Player of the Year.
Boris Becker loaned his 1989 US Open men's singles trophy to the International Tennis Hall of Fame before ceding it in his bankruptcy proceedings in 2019. Courtesy of The Tennis Auction As the lot description points out, Grand Slam singles trophies "virtually never" hit the public market. US Open trophies have a storied partnership with Tiffany & Co., and after Becker loaned the trophy to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, he ceded it in his infamous bankruptcy proceedings in 2019.
Becker declared bankruptcy in 2017 and was convicted in London court on four charges under the Insolvency Act, including removal of property, concealing debt and two counts of failing to disclose estate. (Becker was acquitted of 25 other charges, including nine counts of failing to turn over Grand Slam trophies and his Olympic gold medal to bankruptcy trustees.)
He owed creditors $62.5 million stemming from an unpaid loan of $3.75 million.
Becker was sentenced to 2½ years in prison and was released early under a fast-track deportation program for foreign nationals after serving eight months in a London prison.
In 2024, Becker was discharged from bankruptcy court in London; a judge ruled he'd done "all that he reasonable could do" to repay creditors but fell far short.