HENRY PATTEN has apologised for his X-rated outburst towards a Wimbledon worker.
The 2024 men’s doubles champion has spoken for the first time about the incident that occurred in the days before this summer’s Championships began.
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The Essex lad, 29, was practising at the AELTC Raynes Park facility when a member of staff entered the court three minutes before the end of his scheduled session.
Patten – who had told the individual to wait until he had finished training in his allotted time – grew frustrated with his presence and then said: “Get the f*** off the court.”
After a complaint was lodged to the tournament referee, Patten was issued with a $12,500 (£9,300) fine.
Patten said sorry to the guy and “as a gesture of goodwill, I gave the grounds crew member a Wimbledon Shop gift card” and also offered him a SW19 grounds pass.
But he strongly denied additional, unpublished allegations that had been raised about his conduct and he requested CCTV footage to prove his case.
Those further accusations were not upheld and no sanction was imposed in relation to them.
But despite his appeal, which was handled by Grand Slam Tennis, his fine for using inappropriate language towards a staff member was increased to $15,000 (£11,100).
This was ON condition that if he did not incur another code violation within the next 12 months, the amount will be reduced to $7,500 (£5,600).
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Patten said: “Throughout the appeal process, talks with the organisation and with the grounds crew member himself, I maintained that my behaviour was unacceptable.
“And I continued to offer unreserved apologies to him. I take full responsibility for what happened.”
Patten has a remarkable story, going from a stats man to a Wimbledon champion on Centre Court in just eight years.
