Roland Garros 2026: Henry Patten & Harri Heliovaara finish men’s doubles runners-up
• 2 minute read
Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara finished as runners-up in the men’s doubles at Roland Garros after a straight-sets defeat to defending champions Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers.
Patten and Heliovaara were bidding to lift their third major title together following their wins at Wimbledon (2024) and Australian Open (2025) but eventually lost out 6-4, 6-2 to see Granollers and Zeballos clinch back-to-back titles in Paris.
It marks the second consecutive year that British players have featured in the Roland Garros men’s doubles final, following Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski’s runner-up finish in 2025 - also against Granollers and Zeballos.
Despite falling short in the final, Patten and Helivoaara will become the new joint world No.1’s when the ATP rankings update on Monday following an outstanding season which has already seen them claim four ATP titles.
Patten will become the fifth British player to reach the summit of the ATP doubles rankings in the Open Era, joining Lloyd Glasspool, Neal Skupski, Joe Salisbury, and Jamie Murray.
Speaking after the match, Patten said, “It was obviously a tough day for us, but our team keeps us going, we spend a lot of time with them, and without them, we wouldn't be here without them.
“Harri, thanks for being my partner. We're gonna bounce back stronger, we know that, and it's always a pleasure playing with you, no matter what, so thank you.
Thank you so much to this beautiful crowd. It’s an amazing court, and you guys filled it so nicely for us. Thank you for coming and watching doubles, it's a real privilege for us to play in front of all of you.”
Patten and Heliovaara struggled on serve throughout the match, landing just 52% of first serves compared to their opponents’ 83%.
The Spanish, Argentine pair made the most of their chances on the second serve return, and broke in just the third game of the match after Heliovaara conjured up a double fault.
Although the second seeds responded to level at 3-3 with some strong returning, they were quickly back under pressure as Granollers struck a superb forehand to regain control before the defending champions served out the set to love.
Granollers and Zeballos kept the pressure on early in the second and raced ahead to a 3-0 lead with a double break to take a firm grip on the match. Patten and Heliovaara briefly reduced the deficit with a break of their own, but immediately dropped serve once again.
With momentum firmly on their side, the defending champions continued to dominate on serve and from the baseline, sealing victory on their second match point when Patten mis-hit the ball into the crowd.
Patten and Heliovaara will now turn their attention to the grass court season, where they'll be hoping to add even more silverware to the titles they've won in Adelaide, Doha, Dubai and Madrid.
