Taking its name from tennis legend Boris Becker’s nickname, this new Apple TV+ documentary covers the playing style, controversies, and life outside of tennis of the German player. Premiering at the Berlin Film Festival in February, the two-part documentary makes its streaming debut on the Apple-owned service. Clocking in at four hours in total, is the film as gripping as the man?
The Gist: Boris Becker was a household name in the 1980s as a German tennis phenom who won two Wimbledon titles before even leaving his teenage years. This new documentary from Alex Gibney (who is also behind the Scientology tell-all Going Clear and acclaimed documentaries about Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos and Vladimir Putin) is now streaming on AppleTV+, and tracks his rise within the sport and his life outside of it — especially his finances, which have landed him in hot water in recent years and culminated in a two-and-a-half year prison sentence. Many tennis greats like Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Mats Wilander and Novak Djokovic appear as talking heads alongside Becker himself, as they all unravel the rise and fall of his life.
What Will It Remind You Of?: The in-depth nature of the film — there are almost four hours of footage to examine — may call back to The Last Dance, which gave fans significant access to Michael Jordan’s career and life. Fans of ’80s era tennis will also appreciate McEnroe, the recent Showtime documentary about the bad boy of tennis John McEnroe. (More on him below.)
Performance Worth Watching: McEnroe was a big personality on the court during his career and has turned into an even bigger personality off of it in retirement, with commentating gigs at tennis’s Grand Slams and a narration on the Netflix coming-of-age drama Never Have I Ever. But his talking head role in Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker shows maturity and growth as he looks back at his career with humility and insight into how his (and Becker’s) antics were perceived. His pleasant attitude and reverence for his peers and the sport at large also make his contributions feel winning.
Memorable Dialogue: Director Gibney also wrote the film, and his voiceover adds a personal touch to the otherwise straightforward documentary structure. “He reminded me of Harry Houdini who put himself in perilous situations for our entertainment,” Gibney inserts deep into the first segment, blurring the line between entertainer and athlete.
Sex and Skin: Despite Becker having a personal life fit for the tabloids, the documentary doesn’t show anything salacious.
Our Take: Each generation has its share of tennis legends: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Boris Becker. The rise of a star is fascinating — from their prodigal roots in youth leagues to competing at the sport’s highest level, sports documentaries provide an inside look at how these faces came to be.
Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker is no different, showing Becker’s humble beginnings in Germany to his sudden burst onto the scene and the various rivalries that defined his career. The film is meticulous in deconstructing some of his biggest matches — including ones against McEnroe and Lendl, who are present to provide their version of the story — and giving context to Becker’s state of mind during those moments and how those decisions affected the game for everyone who played after. (There is a great sequence highlighting a Becker medical timeout after a twisted ankle, which delayed the game significantly and resulted in a Becker win. That timeout-turned-momentum-shift has been replicated by many, including Becker’s future protege Djokovic.) In that, the film can occasionally feel inaccessible to people who aren’t tennis fans or don’t have some nascent interest in the sport’s biggest names, and the length of the docuseries could also be a deterrent to any casual fans.
But despite a somewhat myopic setting, the stories are gripping and the access is unparalleled. Part one centers on Becker’s tennis career while part two focuses on his financial downfall, and Becker participated in exclusive interviews for the three years prior to his incarceration in 2022 (he was charged with hiding assets and “loans to avoid paying debt” by the UK). His troubled life is the stuff of great fascination, and Gibney gives us all of it — good and bad.
Our Call: STREAM IT. While it is naturally big on the technicalities of tennis, there is a humanistic story at the center that is appealing to everyone.
Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Vulture, Slate, and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.