Roland Garros Tennis Information and History
The French Open, otherwise known as Roland Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between mid-May and early June in Paris, France, at the StadeRoland Garros. It is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on the annual tennis calendar and the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world. It is one of the most prestigious events in tennis, and it has the widest worldwide broadcasting and audience of all events in this sport. Because of the slow playing surface and the five-set men's singles matches without a tiebreak in the final set, some say that the event is considered to be the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world.
History of the French Open
Officially named in French the Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros (the "French Internationals of Roland Garros" or "Roland Garros Tournament" in English), the tournament is often referred to as the "French Open" and sometimes simply as "Roland Garros."
The event began as a national tournament in 1891 as the Championat de France International de Tennis. The first women's tournament was held in 1897. In 1912, the French tournament was held with a different surface (at the time all tennis played was lawn tennis), a red clay ("terre battue"), made up from the crushed wastes of red brick. The tournament was open only to tennis players who were licensed in France through 1924.
In 1925, the French Championships opened itself to international competitors with the event held on a grass surface alternately between the Racing Club de France and the Stade Francais. After the Mousquetaires or Philadelphia Four (Rene Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, and Jacques Brugnon) won the Davis Cup on American soil in 1927, the French decided to defend the cup in 1928 at a new tennis stadium at Porte d’Auteuil. The Stade de France had offered the tennis authorities three hectares of land with the condition that the new stadium must be named after the World War I pilot, Roland Garros. The new Stade de Roland Garros, and its Center Court, which was named Court Philippe Chatrier in 1988, hosted that Davis Cup challenge.
Suzanne Lenglen Court at Roland Garros.In 1968, the French Championships became the first Grand Slam tournament to go open, allowing both amateurs and professionals to compete.
Since 1981, new prizes have been presented Prix Orange (the most fair-play and the most press friendly player), Prix Citron (the player with the strongest character, personality) and Prix Bourgeon (the tennis player revelation of the year).
Another novelty, since 2006 the tournament has begun on a Sunday, featuring 12 singles matches played on the three main courts. Additionally, on the eve of the tournament's opening, the traditional Benny Berthet exhibition day takes place, where the profits go to different charity associations.
In March 2007, it was announced that the event will provide equal prize money for both men and women in all rounds for the first time ever.
Roland Garros Surface
Clay courts slow down the ball and produce a high bounce when compared to grass courts or hard courts. For this reason, clay takes away some of the advantages of big serves, which makes it hard for serve based players to dominate on the surface. For example, Pete Sampras, a player known for his huge serve, and Roger Federer have never won the French Open. Similarly, John McEnroe and Boris Becker, two classic serve-and-volley players, never won this tournament.
On the other hand, players whose games are more suited to slower surfaces, such as Björn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Rafael Nadal, and Mats Wilander, have found great success at this tournament. In the open era, the only players who won both the French Open and Wimbledon, played on faster grass courts, are Rod Laver, Borg, Andre Agassi, and Nadal.
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