Oh La La! Get La Lowdown On The French Open

The first French Open was held in 1891, under the name Championnat de France, or the French Championships in English.

However, it was only open to players who were part of French clubs. It was played in a variety of different venues up until 1924, mostly in Paris but once in Bordeaux.

The first women’s singles tournament of the French Championships took place in 1897. Mixed doubles began from 1902, with women’s doubles in 1907.

An international competition called the World Hard Court Championships was held from 1912 until 1923. Because it was played on clay courts, held mostly in Paris (save for one tournament in Brussels) and open to international competitors, many see this as the true predecessor to the French Open.

Starting in 1968, the French Open was, in fact, the very first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis open era.

In French, what we know as the French Open is known as the Internationaux de France de Tennis. And it also goes by the name Roland-Garros.

Roland Garros was an aviation pioneer and fought during the first World War. He was killed in 1918, just before he turned 30. Ten years later, the country’s major tennis centre was constructed and called after this war hero and pioneer.

Because the French Open is held there, it also holds that title.

Yes, the French Open is a Grand Slam tournament. It is the second Grand Slam every year, following the Australian Open. Next up is Wimbledon, followed by the US Open.

You can catch all the French Open action at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris.

The French Open takes place across two weeks and begins every year towards the end of May.

Experts widely agree that the French Open is the most physically challenging tennis tournament. This is because it’s played on a clay surface, which leads to both a higher bounce when the ball makes contact with the ground and a slower pace.

The court is composed of five distinct layers. From bottom to top, these are drain rock, crushed gravel, coal residue (clinker), crushed white limestone and red brick dust.

Since 1953, the winners are awarded pure silver trophies from Parisian jewellery house Mellerio dits Meller. The men’s trophy is the Coupe de Mousquetaires, while the women’s is the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen.

In terms of cold hard cash, winners can expect to take away between €750,000 (for singles winners) down to €16,000 (for wheelchair doubles winners).

Because of the challenging clay courts, some of the world’s biggest tennis stars have failed to win the French Open. They include household names like Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Venus Williams, Boris Becker, Virginia Wade and Martina Hingis.

Spanish player Rafael Nadal is the victor by a longshot, with 13 titles to date under his belt, starting from 2005 and with his most recent win in 2020. He’s also the player with the most consecutive titles, with five in a row from 2010 until 2014.

Starting from 1974 and continuing until 1986, Chris Evert won an astounding seven French Open titles. Despite that being over 35 years ago, her record hasn’t been beaten.