Tennis coach accuses Andy Roddick of spouting ‘utter nonsense’ about his player on his podcast

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Andy Roddick has come under fire from the coach of Henry Patten, who has accused the American of twisting the truth on his podcast.

Patten and his partner Harri Heliovaara soared to glory at Wimbledon this summer as they clinched the men’s doubles title.

After an epic ladies’ Wimbledon final between Barbora Krejcikova and Jasmine Paolini, the British-Finnish duo survived three championship points in a pulsating clash against Australians Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell.

However, the success of the doubles stars, who now have five titles as a pair in 2024, seems to have been undermined on the ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘ podcast.

Calvin Betton slams Andy Roddick for spreading ‘utter nonsense’

In an interview with Talking Tennis, Calvin Betton – Patten’s coach – alludes to part-time jobs that Patten and Heliovaara carried out in the past.

But former US Open champion Roddick and Jon Wertheim were accused of controlling the narrative when they were discussing the doubles duo’s title run during a Wimbledon recap show.

Betton said: “I took issue with the story that he [Roddick] kept repeating which, I know, is largely a false story.

“The narrative that they were trying to sell on the podcast, and which Andy kept coming back to, is that Henry [Patten] is a data analyst and Harri [Heliovaara] was an airport worker, and they walked out of day jobs into a Wimbledon title.

“The narrative that these are two guys that walked out of day jobs and won a Wimbledon title is absolute nonsense.

“To tell the story, and then use it as a stick to beat doubles with, is just complete and utter nonsense.”

The truth about Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara’s success

Patten, 28, and Heliovaara, 35, joined forces in April this year, and the success they have achieved already is not to be sniffed at.

They raced out of the blocks, claiming back-to-back titles in their first tournaments together, at the ATP 250 in Marrakech and the Madrid Challenger.

Another two titles in Turin and Lyon in May, and a good run in Eastbourne in June, were sure to have raised the confidence levels before an emphatic run in SW19.

The number eight seeds were disappointed to retire from their first-round clash of the Montreal Open 2024 on Tuesday but will be eager to recover in time for the US Open.