LONDON — Boris Becker, the former tennis star, hails from Germany, lives in England, and has had homes in, among other places, Switzerland, Monaco, Spain and the United States. But now, he says, he represents (wait for it) the Central African Republic.

Mr. Becker, 50, is trying to fend off creditors who forced him into bankruptcy last year, but instead of the usual debtor’s defense of insolvency, he is claiming diplomatic immunity.

On Thursday, his lawyer told the High Court of Justice in London that British courts could not touch Mr. Becker because the Central African Republic — by some measures, the world’s poorest country — named him in April as its attaché to the European Union for sports, culture and humanitarian affairs.

“He may not be made subject to any legal process, whatever the merits, without the express consent of the Central African Republic; and legal claims can only be served on him through diplomatic channels,” the lawyer, Ben Emmerson said in a statement.