TURIN/WASHINGTON, November 18, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
When Finland’s Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten of Great Britain secured championship point to win their first Nitto ATP Finals doubles title Sunday afternoon in Turin, Italy, on a perfectly-placed ace by the tall Briton, each player shared a fitting emotional reaction – one that expressed a winning combination of joy, relief and satisfaction.
Patten belted out a very big “Yeah!” Heliovaara, who was playing up at the net, turned around to Patten and shared a huge smile and held out his arms. Soon, they were hugging each other in celebration of what they had just accomplished as a team: winning the year-end doubles championship. Heliovaara would eventually leap into the air and clench a fist to punctuate his feelings. Then, after hugging some more, they raced together over to their players’ box to be giddy with their coaches and team as well as their friends and family.
The World No. 2 Heliovaara and Patten defeated the all-British team of World No. 6 Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski, 7-5, 6-3, in one hour and 20 minutes. The victory by the Finnish/British duo avenged a loss to Salisbury and Skupski earlier in the week during the group stage. Also, it put an end to Salisbury’s 14-match winning streak in Turin, which included a pair of ATP Finals doubles titles won with Rajeev Ram of the United States in 2022 and 2023.
The last team standing
Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten capture their first title in Turin and just look at what it means! #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/F7qGAIGpxQ
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 16, 2025
By winning the year-end championship trophy, Heliovaara, 36, who plays right-handed and the lefty Patten, 29, won their fourth title of 2025, to go along with trophies won at the Australian Open, Beijing and their first Masters 1000 crown in Paris two weeks ago. In Turin, they put together a satisfying, season-ending five-match winning streak.
“It’s a strange feeling,” said Patten, a 6-foot-6-inch native of Colchester, England. “I don’t know what it would feel like, but we obviously spend a lot of time on the road. We spent a lot of time working hard and playing on the ATP tour throughout the year.”
Good friends on and off the court, Heliovaara and Patten compiled a 50-20 win-loss record during the 2025 season. Overall, they have won 89 of 121 matches together since becoming a team last year.
“It’s really emotional actually to win the final event, the combination of all of that hard work, all of those kind of hours on the road,” Patten said during his team’s post-match champion’s news conference. “We have some time off just around the corner, which everyone is looking forward to.
“But yes, it was surprisingly emotional I would say, yeah, which is nice.”
Moments to savor
Harri Heliovaara Henry Patten #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/CfoJEr9qst
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 16, 2025
Meanwhile, Heliovaara, a 6-foot-2-inch native of the Finnish capital city Helsinki – and the one on the team who sports a baseball cap when he’s playing – couldn’t stop smiling. “Feels pretty amazing,” he said.
“I’ve been in the semis [of the ATP Finals] twice. There’s something good about Turin. I played this tournament three times [once with former partner Lloyd Glasspool]: semis, semis, now win. I can’t complain much. I love the conditions indoors. That’s were I grew up in Finland, obviously.
“I feel like I found a good partner to play with me, as well. Have to thank Henry. We worked hard this year. We didn’t have an easy year. We started well, but to finish like this, it’s a dream come true.”
Looking back on Sunday’s final, Heliovaara and Patten were lights out during their six first-set service games after winning all but four points. They broke their opponents on their fifth opportunity to win the 45-minute opening set. Then, Heliovaara and Patten broke Salisbury and Skupski, again, to go ahead 4-2 in the second set and never looked back. The champions completed the week not being broken on their serve.
So close they can taste it
Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten are closing in on the title in Turin, they lead Salisbury/Skupski 7-5. #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/cMGgshlCw9
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 16, 2025
One statistic which stood out for Heliovaara and Patten in the title match was they gained eight break-point opportunities against their opponents and converted two of them.
“Yeah, obviously that’s a great stat to have,” Patten said. “As ever in doubles, you often generate break points and see them pass with an ace or you hit a good volley and it’s just chopped off. It can be pretty heartbreaking when you see so many, and they can’t go by.
“But we responded really well in those situations, kept believing in ourselves, and finally, yeah, the pressure kind of paid off.”
Heliovaara added: “We did not face break points today. Our serves were not broken the whole week. That is something incredible. Playing with the no-ad system, it’s quite easy to lose four out of seven points. That didn’t happen. We can be pretty proud about that.”
Turin, completed it mate
Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten clinch the title in magnificent fashion, by defeating Salisbury/Skupski 7-5 6-3!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/qsKiQ7otmI
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 16, 2025
Besides playing championship-caliber tennis, another thing that Patten can be proud about from his week in Turin is he became engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Ellie Stone. He nervously proposed in Turin on the day before the team’s first match at the ATP Finals, at the Basilica di Superga, known for its view of the city.
“No, I’ve never been engaged before,” Patten quipped. “I’ve lifted a few trophies, but not this one before. It’s been pretty unique. Yeah, a great success.”
Patten and Stone first met while they were college students at UNC-Asheville in North Carolina, where she played soccer and he was a tennis player. She is now in her second year of medical residency at the UNC Medical School.
“I’ve been with Ellie now for best part of 10 years, pretty much,” Patten told the ATP Tour website. “It was coming at some point and as a tennis player, I don’t get to see her that much throughout the year. And this is one of the trips that she chose to come on.”
“I’m very lucky to have a partner like her and a partner like Harri”
Henry Patten’s dream week continues after his recent engagement!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/K7PXNs7kpP
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 16, 2025
Throughout the tournament, Stone sat in the players’ box inside Inalpi Arena – including the championship match – cheering for Patten and Heliovaara.
As Patten and Heliovaara walked off the court together, soon after securing championship point, they took a moment to sign the TV camera lens, which has become customary at many ATP Tour championship events. While Heliovaara smiled and scribbled a simple heart emoji, Patten took his time – deep in thought – and drew a diamond ring surrounded by a love heart.
Love is in the air
Henry Patten gives a special shoutout to his fiancé ❤️#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/d0m7kgPVQo
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 16, 2025
Soon, during the trophy presentation, in addition to praising beaten compatriots Salisbury and Skupski, Patten gave thanks to his and Heliovaara’s team. Then, he added: “I have to give a special mention to my new fiancé, Ellie. I thought Turin was a pretty romantic place and luckily she said ‘yes.’ Thank you for the support and I can’t wait to enjoy our time together.”
Later on, during his team’s post-match news conference, Patten said: “Ellie will be very pleased we won. She was joking, ‘You won your first tournament as an engaged man.’
“That’s a good sign!”
