Roland Garros

Roland Garros


The French Open, officially the "Tournoi de Roland-Garros" (English: Roland Garros Tournament), Roland Garros for short, is a tennis event played on clay and held over two weeks between end of May and early June in Paris, France, and is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on the annual tennis calendar

Roland Garros History
The French Open began as a national tournament in 1891. In 1925, the French Championships opened itself to international competitors with the event held on a grass surface alternatively between the Racing Club de France and the Stade Français.
For the 1928 Davis Cup challenge, a new tennis stadium was built at Porte d’Auteuil. Named after a hero of World War I, the new Stade "Roland Garros" was built with a red clay (terre battue) playing surface, one which alters the ball's bounce and the player's approach to the match vis-à-vis grass courts.
As such, over the years, clay court specialists have evolved and often succeed here whilst higher ranked players may struggle like the great champion Pete Sampras and current World No. 1 Roger Federer who won every other Grand Slam several times but never Roland Garros. As of 2006, the last six, 8 of the last 9, 11 of the last 13, and 13 of the last 17 French Open men's singles championships were won by tennis players who never won any other Grand Slam tournament.