Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten captured their first Nitto ATP Finals crown as a team on Sunday when they defeated Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 7-5, 6-3 to snap two-time champion Salisbury’s remarkable winning streak.
After sending the Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori to the title match for the first time, Heliovaara and Patten were again assured during the final. Heliovaara and Patten lost to Salisbury and Skupski in the round-robin stage, but put in an impressive performance to improve to 3-2 in the teams’ Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
The second seeds produced some stunning passing shots and were rock solid on serve, failing to face a break point after 80 minutes to prevail. It marks the eighth time in the tournament’s history that the team that lost to their last opponent in the round-robin stage returned to triumph in the championship match.
“It’s hard to describe,” Heliovaara said. “All week I’ve been looking at the winners list, with huge winners, and I thought, if my name was ever on there, I would be so proud. To be there next to Henry is surreal.”
Heliovaara and Patten end the season with a record of 50-20, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The Finnish-British team captured the trophy at the Australian Open and also won crowns in Paris and Beijing.
After the victory at the Inalpi Arena, Heliovaara dropped his racket and roared as Patten raised his fist. Patten is a double winner this week after getting engaged to long-time partner Ellie Stone in Turin.
“The tennis is pretty good, but the engagement was something special,” Patten said. “It’s been a complete dream for me. Ellie has been here all week supporting me. I’m a very happy guy right now. I feel incredibly lucky to have a partner like her and a partner like Harri.”
Salisbury had won his past fourteen matches at the Nitto ATP Finals, capturing the title in 2022 and 2023 with Rajeev Ram before failing to qualify in 2024. Skupski competed in his first final at the year-end event.
The British also lost title matches at Roland Garros and the US Open in 2025, ending their partnership with a 46-22 record on the season.
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