Harri Heliövaara hurt his head last week when he was chasing the same ball with his doubles partner Henry Patten.
A tennis player Harri Heliövaaran and his doubles pair of Henry Patten play resumes tomorrow, Wednesday, when the pair play their first match in the United States at the Masters in Cincinnati.
Last week, the duo had to stop their opening match of the ATP tournament in Montreal because of a situation that happened in the second set.
Heliövaara’s and Patten’s heads bumped into each other as they aimed for the same ball.
The Finnish player says that after the injury, his situation has been monitored day by day.
– I have no previous experience with concussions, and hopefully there won’t be any more in the future either. It’s a completely new situation, but luckily I’ve received wonderful help, he says.
He has also been assisted by a specialist who has worked with ice hockey players, where head injuries are more common than tennis players. In the first days, he mainly rested, after which he gradually started doing exercises.
According to Heliövaara, when a right-handed and a left-handed player play together, there are bound to be situations when both want the same ball.
– Of course, those situations where you communicate about who takes what have been practiced before.
The two didn’t want to go looking for the culprit in a situation where both of them hurt their heads.
– Fortunately, there was no dispute of any kind.
On Monday, two days before Cincinnati’s first match, Heliövaara was able to train “somewhat normally” for the first time.
– It was nice to notice that the body is ready for it. There were no negative symptoms or feelings today. Yes, I will be ready when the matches start, he said on Monday.
The Finnish-British couple who won the Wimbledon tennis tournament is ranked seventh in Cincinnati. In Tuesday’s opening match, they will face the United States Brandon Nakashima and William Woodallwho got in with the help of a wild card.