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Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Meet the unsung Wimbledon champion who worked courtside collecting data for IBM
Unassuming Essex left-hander Henry Patten, 29, cuts a remarkably relaxed figure but last summer, clinched the most memorable of Grand Slam glories on home SW19 soil Henry Patten might just be the most unsung Wimbledon champion in recent British history. The unassuming Essex left-hander, 29, cuts a remarkably relaxed figure but last summer, clinched the most memorable of Grand Slam glories on home SW19 soil. Accompanied by flying Finn Harri Heliövaara, Patten was crowned men's doubles champion with a thrilling three-set victory over Aussie aces Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson on a raucous Centre Court. But that margin tells far from the full story, with the diverse duo battling back from a set down to tee up a tantalising decider with a nerve-jangling 10-8 win in a second set tie-break. The third was an even more frantic affair, with Patten and experienced Heliövaara, 36, eventually edging out an unforgettable 11-9 triumph in the championship tie-break to trigger All England Club ecstasy and emotional Centre Court scenes. You'd think that victory would propel Patten straight into the pantheon of British Wimbledon greats – but with doubles naturally lacking the sparkle of the singles draw, coupled with Patten's down-to-earth demeanour, it's fair to say the majority of fans tuning into the action this summer may remain largely unaware of who the eloquent southpaw actually is. His rise to the summit has been unconventional but that's ultimately what makes his story all the more compelling. Patten virtually quit tennis between the ages of 12 and 16 before rediscovering his passion during a scholarship at Culford School, Suffolk, and going on to study at both UNC Asheville in North Carolina and Durham University. When back in the UK each summer during those years spent across the pond, Patten – as his impressive LinkedIn profile puts it – then 'worked courtside at Wimbledon collecting data points from matches for IBM.' Seven years on from that job, it was Patten himself who was keeping others crunching the numbers as he improbably navigated his way to the men's doubles title. 'I was never expecting to be in this position at all,' said Patten on the eve of last summer's Wimbledon final. 'I used to work here doing the courtside stats for IBM – during college, I never intended to play professional tennis so I had summer internships working in wealth managements and those kind of things. 'At IBM, you were either on the outside courts or if you were good and switched on, the show court team. I was on the outside courts! It's quite funny now because I can spot them in an IBM t-shirt, sitting in front of a computer and just inputting all of the data. It was a brutal job – but a really good experience and I really enjoyed it.' Patten added: 'It's surreal for me given my pathway, which was not a very traditional one to the professional game. It's amazing and I feel very privileged to be part of a final. I'm very appreciative that Harri took a bit of a gamble to play with me – it's been amazing to build a successful partnership and see that investment to pay off.' The following day, Patten and Heliövaara, a veteran of the doubles circuit and a 2023 mixed US Open champion, scaled the SW19 summit with that marathon victory to cap their fairytale rise to becoming the most unlikely of Grand Slam champions. 'I don't know what to do with myself, to be honest,' said Patten on that super Saturday in south-west London. I don't have words for what I'm feeling right now – and that's amplified by how we won the match. 'It's bizarre - because I would have said I probably wasn't prepared to win this tournament. It's only the second time I've played it, which is a crazy stat. The most amazing thing about it is being there with family and friends, sharing it with them - those that have supported me for such a long time now. 'It certainly helps having the prize money - in terms of changing my life, we'll see. I think the most important thing for me is to be able to share it with my family.' Heliövaara, who has endured an injury-ravaged career and used to work at an airport in Helsinki, added: 'I feel joy, huge emotions. Tears of joy – it's unbelievable. It's been a dream. A dream team, what can you say?' Almost a year has passed since that triumph and their partnership is still thriving. After reaching the third round at Flushing Meadows, Patten and Heliövaara sealed their second major title together with another three-set victory in the Australian Open final in Melbourne. They crashed out in the second round at Roland Garros but still arrive at Wimbledon as the current world No.3 and 4 and one of the SW19 pairings to beat. But Patten is not the only British big-hitter on the men's doubles circuit, with Neal Skupski getting his tilt in the capital underway determined to emulate his exploits from two years ago. The Liverpool star, a two-time mixed doubles champion in 2021 and 2022, secured his maiden men's title alongside Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof in 2023 and arrives at Wimbledon fresh off the back of a recent run to the French Open final. Skupski, 35, joined forces with fellow Brit Joe Salisbury on the red Roland Garros clay but was unable to battle past Spaniard Marcel Granollers and Argentine Horacio Zeballos in a turbulent three-set final. That was the duo Skupski and Koolhof beat in the 2023 Wimbledon showpiece and speaking after the clash in Paris, he said: 'Congratulations, you've got me back for a couple of years ago. 'It was definitely your night tonight. To Joe and our team, it was a tough start of the year but we put the work in and it's going a lot better now and we're definitely progressing. 'We've arrived now as a team, I'm looking forward to the grass court season in a couple of weeks but we should be really proud of what we've done here. The first Brits to make the final here at Roland Garros in doubles so we should keep our heads up.' Skupski and Salisbury come into their home Grand Slam as the respective world No.9 and 17, with Salisbury, 33, a four-time men's doubles major champion but having never advanced past the semi-finals in the format at Wimbledon. Elsewhere on the men's side, fellow British pair Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash arrive off the back of a run to the Australian Open quarter-finals earlier this year. And they almost emulated those exploits at Roland Garros before losing to Brit Luke Johnson in the third round, who joined forces with Dutch player Sanders Arends to reach his maiden major quarter-final. On the women's side, Norfolk star Olivia Nicholls arrives as the highest-ranked Brit and will be hoping to advance past the third round in the format for the first time in her career. And she will also fancy her chances in the mixed doubles draw, where she plays alongside Patten and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January before the quarters in Paris last month. Skupski and Salisbury will also be flying the flag in the mixed doubles draw, with the stage set for a fun fortnight of action in the format on the famous lawns of SW19.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Teen Spirit: youth culture at the center of OCMA's California Biennial exhibits
Over the past 10 months, a group of high school students from all over Orange County have studied art curation at the Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, developing wisdom and insight beyond their years. They've banded together as the Orange County Young Curators under the guidance of OCMA's manager of gallery Nate Bench and Delaina Engberg, coordinator of youth and family programs. 'I think a program like this is really about encouraging young people to have a worldview informed by art,' Bench said. Together the teens curated their own exhibition from OCMA's collection titled 'Piece of Me' after Britney Spears's 2007 song. Their show explores self identity, nostalgia and technology's impact on society, all through a Gen Z lens. The collection of work, which includes artist Alison Van Pelt's painting of Spears titled 'Britney' (2004), which has never been exhibited before, fits perfectly into the Costa Mesa museum's 'California Biennial 2025: Desperate, Scared, But Social,' on view now through Jan. 4. The show's title, taken from Orange County riot grrrl band Emily's Sassy Lime's 1995 album, features an installation of ephemera from the musicians. Arranged by Courtenay Finn, OCMA chief curator and director of programs; Christopher Y. Lew, founder of C/O: Curatorial Office and associate curator Lauren Leving, 'Desperate, Scared, But Social' examines the frustration and angst of late adolescence and early adulthood while still presenting instances of hope and inspiration. 'I think when you are young, you can imagine a future that doesn't exist and sometimes when you get older that feels harder,' said Finn. 'We need to remember that creativity and curiosity.' The 2025 California Biennial is organized across OCMA's Special Exhibitions and Permanent Collection Pavilions and features 12 artists and collectives. It begins with 'What She Said,' by Deanna Templeton, a Huntington Beach native who pairs photo portraits of teens around the world with scans of her own teen diary entries that begin in the mid-1980s. 'She is talking through that moment in time where you are trying to figure out who you are, how you fit in and how to express yourself, especially through music and fashion,' Finn said. The series is titled after a song by the Smiths. Templeton is particularly drawn to youth subcultures like goth, skater and punk; she documents teens from those communities almost exclusively. 'She had a really difficult adolescence, but also had these moments of ecstatic joy…she wants to share that journey with other teens to let them know no matter how awful it is, you can still come out the other side,' Finn said. In the Juvenilia section, now-established California artists share works they created when they were teens themselves. On the verge of self-discovery, paintings, drawings, ceramics, zine-making and music demonstrate early hints of the artists that Seth Bogart, Miranda July, Brontez Purnell, Laura Owens and Joey Terrill became. An installation of work by Griselda Rosas features embroidery skills passed down to her by previous generations, sewn over art made by her young son, Fernando. Stanya Kahn's 23-minute film 'No Go Backs' follows two teens as they leave the city and explore a wilderness void of adults. New sculptures by Woody De Othello are also on exhibit. Nearby, Heesoo Kwon investigates how much of our memory can be trusted, using A.I. to fill blank spaces and extend the frame of family photos from her youth in Korea. 'A.I. does these weird things, like in her birthday photo, it has replicated her several times, or in another case it filled out the room but added things that shouldn't be there,' said Finn. Those images are paired with light boxes of more family photos with lenticular goddess avatars based on her female ancestors. 'They are based on her great-grandmother, her grandmother, her aunties and her mom, as if they were always there watching over her as she grew up,' said Finn. The work of young Laura Owens, including her first interaction with art via her Keith Haring Swatch watch she sketched in high school, is paired with the Gardena High School Collection. In 1919, John H. Whitely, then principal of the school, encouraged graduating senior classes to acquire works of art as gifts to the campus. That led to an impressive collection of the early works of California artists. Although the acquisition program ended in 1956, Gardena High School alumni in 2013 began a nonprofit for the collection, making it available for public viewing again. The collection is another example of young people's taste in art becoming refined. It is a thread that Leving hopes audiences tug on as they move through the exhibition and understand how they all connect. 'Adolescence is a touchpoint for most everyone and so we can have these shared experiences, even as intergenerational connections,' said Leving. Emily's Sassy Lime represents a different generation of youth subculture than the Lindas Lindas, but both bands have ephemera featured in the show that track their shared DIY spirit and feminist agenda. Founded in Irvine in the 1990s by Emily Ryan, Amy Yao and Wendy Yao, Emily's Sassy Lime played a key role in the early riot grrrl movement. The Linda Lindas, comprised of Bela Salazar, Eloise Wong, and sisters Lucia and Mila de la Garza, follow in those footsteps. Ryan joined the Linda Lindas onstage for the Biennial's block party kick off at OCMA on June 21, which included an appearance from riot grrrl movement pioneer Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. For the Emily's Sassy Lime installation, extensive archiving of the bands posters, photographs, zines, letters and video footage alongside found art and work they were creating themselves has a simple explanation, Ryan explained. 'We come from a long line of hoarders,' said Ryan. 'Immigrants in a lot of ways place importance on certain things and so the way we grew up, anything that caught our eye or had some kind of meaning, it stayed with us.' Styled like a '90s cool girl's bedroom with photos, drawings and CK One ads, the installation is a special type of teenage girl world-building, according to Ryan. 'It's the recreation of that gridded display, made from magazines, fliers, gum wrappers and photos,' Ryan said. The grid display isn't completely unfamiliar to the Young Curators. Instead of reminding them of a teenage bedroom, they liken it to Instagram, perfect rows of photos that convey a meaning or aesthetic. A quote from Britney Spears' Instagram account from 2020 about authenticity accompanies Alison Van Pelt's blurred black and white painting of the pop star, a work all the young curators agreed belonged in their show. 'We really enjoyed the idea that Britney Spears is such a culture icon, that even though she is not active in our generation we still know her and know her story so closely,' said Laura Wagner, one of the young curators. 'Britney Spears is someone that everyone knows and everyone thinks they know very personally, but nobody knows the real Britney.' 'California Biennial 2025: Desperate, Scared, But Social' is on view at the Orange County Museum of Art at 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa now through Jan. 4, 2026.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Hockey in the blood for silver fern family
Having one player in a senior national squad is some accomplishment. Having three brothers all wearing the silver fern over June and July is more than some effort — it is a rarity in top-level sport. The three Ward brothers, who hail from Warrington and went to King's High School, have made national senior hockey squads. Middle brother Finn made his Black Sticks debut at a tournament in Malaysia last week while his younger brother Patrick was a reserve for the team. After illness hit members of the squad he was called into the team, playing key games at the end. He made his Black Sticks debut a couple of years ago. Older brother Jordan was watching on from the stands in Malaysia. He has been named in the New Zealand A squad. Jordan, who has been close to making national squads in the past, was selected for the Hulunbuir (Moqi) Invitational Trophy, played late next month, in the far north of China, close to Mongolia. The A team is part of a new NZ Hockey strategy to expose a wider group of athletes to international match play and grow the depth of the Black Sticks men's programme. Jordan, an electrician, is living and playing in Melbourne; Finn is in Wellington, working as a teacher while Patrick is a surveying student at the University of Otago. They also have a younger sister, Zara, who is studying architecture at Otago Polytechnic. But they all hail from Otago and bleed blue and gold. Their success comes from hard work, talent, making the most of opportunities and support from their parents and friends. Patrick Ward said before the tournament started he had just followed his two older brothers, picked up a stick and got into it. Finn Ward said they had been around a hockey stick since they were little, either playing or watching. They paid tribute to their parents who helped them massively financially and got them to where they had to be in terms of trainings and games. Otago Hockey pathways manager Hymie Gill said the Ward boys were given a good schooling of hockey at King's High School through coach Dave Ross, laying the foundations. ''They are pretty much hockey rats. Just been down at the turf all the time. And they have that drive to want to be better than everyone else,'' Gill said. ''Their parents are athletic, they have a couple of uncles involved in athletics so they have the genetics thing.'' Technically they were very good and athletically were strong. They were good at multiple sports but all choose hockey. ''They were always practising their skills — doing that extra work after practice that has to be done when you are younger if you want to make it.'' He said it was something of a surprise that the youngest brother Patrick was the first to make his national senior debut but Finn had now made it and hopefully Jordan would eventually get there too. Parents Blair and Liz Ward were on the sideline in Malaysia last week and were extremely proud of their sons. Blair and Jordan were invited to see Finn's jersey presentation and a proud dad presented the shirt to his son. ''It brought a tear to my eye. All the work they have done to get there. And having Jordan there was pretty important. He was the one who really set the standards, set the work ethic, the love of playing the game. And the other boys just went from there,'' Blair said. ''They just carried it on. Finn is a talent and just wanted to to emulate Jordan. Then Patrick came along and he is just so competitive. They all love team sports. King's, Tuataras, Otago — they still keep in contact with so many of the guys they have played with. ''Jordy started it, out at Warrington, working with Wendy, who is Kane Russell's mum. Kane was the superstar they all looked up to.'' He said his sons were all incredibly driven and motivated and seeing them playing together at the higher level was a massive buzz. ''We just get out of their road, really — let them do what they can. In the final the two of them were interchanging each other so I thought they might not be on the field at the same time. But they were in the second half so that was great.''— APL
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Valtteri Bottas nears F1 return with Cadillac
Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas is finalising a deal to return to Formula 1 with Cadillac in 2026, multiple news outlets reported. Bottas, a reserve driver at Mercedes, added fuel to the speculation with a cheeky video posted to his X feed on Sunday. In it, he opens the door of a Cadillac SUV and has a conversation with someone off camera. 'Oh wow, that's actually a nice seat,' Bottas says while checking out the driver's seat. 'I wouldn't mind.' 'And there's two seats,' the other man points out, prompting this reply from Bottas: 'And they're both free?' But when the other voice asks if he wants to sit down, Bottas answers, 'Not yet.' Cadillac is entering the championship series next season. Bottas, 35, has made no secret of his desire to regain a full-time F1 seat after being dropped by Sauber at the end of the 2024 season. The Finn has 10 career wins and 67 podium finishes in nearly 250 starts since 2013 with Sauber, Mercedes, Williams and Alfa Romeo. His last win came at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Sassy Chihuahua's Hilarious 'Demands' for Playtime Sound Like Human Complaints
Sassy Chihuahua's Hilarious 'Demands' for Playtime Sound Like Human Complaints originally appeared on PetHelpful. Listening to stereotypes and generalizations can be more harmful than helpful, but when it comes to dog breeds, many stereotypes also contain a kernel of truth. Of course, a dog's individual traits and physical looks will differ from one individual to the next, but breed characteristics exist for a reason. For example, most Golden Retrievers really are everyone's BFF, and many Siberian Huskies love to howl! When it comes to attitude, though, no dog breed even comes close to the infamous Chihuahua. These pups may be tiny, but their personalities are larger than life. Finn, the long-coated Chihuahua, is no exception. Whether he's arguing with his fur brother or asking Mom to play, he always has something to say. In fact, his June 5 complaints sound more like a human's groans and grumbles than a dog's! Don't forget to turn your volume up for this one. What a sassy pants! Finn is quite upset that no one has tossed his toy to play fetch, but he has a great way of getting his point across. It's impossible to ignore this grumpy pup! "I have never heard so much bass on a Chihuahua," one commenter admitted. I know exactly what you mean!I hadn't heard anything like this before until living with a roommate's moody senior Chihuahua, and now I know that grumbles, growls, and groans are just one way these tiny dogs communicate. Many of my fondest memories of living there include senior pup PJ and his hot-and-cold attitude. Finn's commenters are just as entertained by how much he moves his mouth when he grumbles. It looks like he should be barking instead! A viewer said it best when he wrote, "it's like a phone on silent but with the vibration on." Whether they go for the loud approach or the dramatic approach like Finn, every Chihuahua's attitude is just as unique as they are. This funny dog likes to use his 'inside voice,' but he still gives his whole heart to every groan and grumble that comes out of his mouth. After such a big performance for simply wanting to play, I'd expect nothing less! Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips. Sassy Chihuahua's Hilarious 'Demands' for Playtime Sound Like Human Complaints first appeared on PetHelpful on Jun 13, 2025 This story was originally reported by PetHelpful on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
