Latest news with #HarriHeliövaara
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
British tennis star handed largest fine of this year's Wimbledon after verbally abusing staff in explosive training row - as All England Tennis Club announces full list of 12 punished players
A British player has received the heaviest fine so far of this year's competition as Wimbledon announced their first list of punishments for 2025. Henry Patten, a doubles specialist and Wimbledon champion, has been fined £9,000. The 29-year-old has to pay the penalty after verbally abusing staff as they tried to cut his practice session short. Patten won last year's Wimbledon doubles title as well as the 2025 Australian Open crown alongside Harri Heliövaara of Finland. Victory Down Under earlier this year saw Patten and Heliövaara reach as high as number three in the world doubles rankings. Patten and Heliövaara have made their way into the last 16 of this year's men's doubles at Wimbledon. They will play against France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Australia's Jordan Thompson on Monday. Patten and Heliövaara, who won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon last year, have earned £43,750 between them in prize money so far in this year's competition, according to The Mirror. That figure will increase to £87,500 if they win in the next round on Monday. All told, Wimbledon announced 12 sanctions for various misdemeanours in the first week of the Championships. French player Adrian Mannarino has been handed a fine of £4,400 for unsportsmanlike conduct during his second-round victory over compatriot Valentin Royer. Russian Elena Pridankina has been fined £3,672 for unsportsmanlike conduct after she lost in the first round of the doubles draw to Jelena Ostapenko and Hsieh Su-wei. There are four players who have been ordered to pay up £2,938. Zizou Bergs and Halley Baptiste have been punished for an audible obscenity, Varvara Gracheva for an abuse of rackets or equipment and Anna Kalinskaya has also been punished for unsportsmanlike conduct. Jule Niemeier has also been handed a fine of £1,835 for unsportsmanlike conduct while competing during qualifying. Alex Bolt, Chloe Paquet, Colton Smith and Luca Van Assche have all been told to part with £1,468 for various different offences. In total, after fining the 12 players so far in this year's competition, Wimbledon has taken in £36,715.
South Wales Argus
03-07-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Patten hoping to fly further under radar in Wimbledon title defence
The Manningtree star, 29, memorably soared to men's doubles SW19 glory alongside flying Finn Harri Heliövaara last year and kicked off his latest campaign with a fluent straight sets triumph. The Essex ace advanced with a 7-6(4) 6-4 victory over British pair Dan Evans and Henry Searle to reach the second round on Wednesday. Patten entered last year's Championships as an entirely unknown quantity but propelled his profile to new heights with a totally unexpected triumph. That may have led to greater fanfare ahead of his All England Club return but the rangy left-hander, who also grabbed Australian Open glory back in January, insists he is relishing flying under the radar once again. 'I would say it's felt remarkably similar this year,' he said. 'We've not had much special treatment – we've been over at Raynes Park practicing with the other doubles guys. 'It's business as usual which I think in a way, has helped us. 'If we were flying all over the place and meeting people, doing fancy things then maybe we would have gone out of our routine a little bit. 'I think that suits us – certainly the first day we came in, sitting on terrace where I had fantastic memories last year, it was nice to sit down and reflect on those times and what a great year we're had. 'I sometimes get recognised at airports – but for Harry it's very different as in Finland, he is a superstar. 'What's amazing is wherever we play, the Finnish support is amazing, which is such a great feeling wherever we are on the court.' Patten and experienced Heliövaara, 35, defied the odds to clinch a heart-thumping Wimbledon crown last summer. They toppled Australian aces Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in a three-set thriller to capture All England Club hearts on a Saturday night to savour in south-west London. The dynamic duo followed that up with another memorable triumph in Melbourne and knew they faced a stern test as they commenced their Wimbledon campaign on Wednesday. But they showed no sign of nerves as they swatted aside West Midlands pair Evans, 35, and Searle, 19, to keep their hopes of emulating last year's exploits alive. 'It's a nice feeling to get that one out of the way,' Patten added. 'For any Slam there's always a bit of anxiety before the first match as there's so much build-up and preparation that goes into it. 'Maybe a little bit extra for this one as we were so eager to get started – to battle that and bring great energy to the court against tricky opponents is a very, very good feeling.'
