Wimbledon champion asks for a meeting with the ATP Tour about changes to the sport
Some suggested changes to the ATP Tour have stirred up criticism from one of Wimbledon’s 2026 champions. Tennis experts are unhappy about reports that the ATP Tour, which runs men’s tennis worldwide, might cut doubles prize money from 20% to just 10% of the total tournament prize money starting in 2028.
British player Henry Patten, who is part of the world’s top-ranked men’s doubles team with his partner Harri Heliovaara, spoke out against these plans. The 30-year-old recently won his second Wimbledon men’s doubles title with a straight-sets victory over Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.
At a press event at the All England Club with the 2024 and 2026 champs, Patten defended doubles tennis and urged the ATP to reconsider their ideas.
“I’ve said it all week—every round we played, we started on Court 16 or 17 with full crowds. Then we moved to Court 18, Court 2, Court 1—each time packed with fans,” said Patten, who’s from Colchester.
“It’s tough because there’s this strong idea out there that doubles just isn’t popular enough. I don’t think that’s true. We’ve shown otherwise. Wimbledon is a big part of that—people come here to watch all kinds of tennis: singles, doubles, wheelchair, juniors, exhibitions. People love tennis here.”
Patten praised the value of doubles in helping to grow tennis and said he hopes for better support and exposure for doubles at Wimbledon. While no talks have happened yet with the ATP, he’s hopeful for conversations soon.
“We’re trying to set up meetings through the ATP’s head of player relations. I’ve asked for contact info for the tournament directors,” Patten explained. “I want to talk with them and see how doubles players can add value beyond just matches—maybe through ProAms, playing with sponsors, or other activities.
“I’m hopeful a small group of us will sit down with decision-makers. It hasn’t happened yet, but we’re working on it.”
Patten and Heliovaara’s Wimbledon run wasn’t all easy. Besides their straight-sets win in the first round, they needed three sets to beat Americans Mac Kiger and Patrik Trhac in round two, and Czech duo Adam Pavlasek and Patrik Riki in round three. Their quarter-final win was a tough battle, ending in a nail-biting final-set tiebreak, and both semifinal sets went the full distance before they finally secured their place in the final.