Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara are Wimbledon champions once again. The world number one pairing defeated Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Croatia's Mate Pavic 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3) on Centre Court to reclaim the title they first won in 2024, and add a third Grand Slam crown to the one they collected at the 2025 Australian Open.
The clinching moment was pure drama: Patten fired an ace on their second match point and immediately collapsed to the ground, before Heliovaara celebrated with a forward roll of his own. The two embraced to a rapturous reception from the Centre Court crowd.
The Finn called Patten the best partner in the world, while the Briton was equally effusive about what the partnership has meant to him. Patten credited Heliovaara with essentially saving his career, saying the Finn took a chance on him at the very start and that it turned out to be a remarkable decision for both of them.
Beyond the trophy, Patten used his Centre Court platform to speak out forcefully against proposed ATP Tour changes that could halve doubles draw sizes and slash doubles prize money from 20% to 10% of the overall purse. A coalition of top doubles players has already accused the tour of trying to make doubles unviable as a profession. Patten pushed back, arguing the sport should be expanding opportunities for players everywhere, not contracting them.
The pair are now the 11th team in the Open Era to win multiple Wimbledon men's doubles titles, a remarkable achievement for a partnership that only formed at the start of 2024. TennisDraw users who backed Patten and Heliovaara to go all the way this fortnight will be feeling very smart right now.
