If you're a new tennis enthusiast, you might wonder what are the major tournaments in tennis. In order of play, they are: the Australian Open, the Roland-Garros, the US Open, and Wimbledon. Of course, this sport lists many more tournaments. So many that they're organised into seasons - the clay court season, the grass court season, the Masters, the hard court season, and so on.
Still, as far as major tennis tournaments go, the Grand Slam tournaments are as big as they get. Now, as the Australian Open just wrapped up, fans of tennis are turning their attention to Paris. Just outside the city's centre lies a relatively small complex, small by Grand Slam tournament standards, anyway. Come the end of May, this complex will be buzzing with energy.
The King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, will strive to pick up yet another French Open win; his 15th. Novak Djokovic will do his utmost to keep his rival, Nadal, from victory. Polish tennis sensation Iga Świątek will defend her title. Naomi Osaka will step onto these courts for the first time since 2022.
All of this is exciting enough. But knowing this tournament's backstory and how it became such a draw makes this event even more compelling. In this article, Superprof lets you in on all those details, starting with what seems to be the most pressing question.
Why Is it Called Roland Garros?
Presuming the 'it' in question refers to the tournament, Roland Garros is not its official name. In French, this tennis event is called Internationaux de France de Tennis, or the French Internationals of Tennis. The English-speaking world calls it the French Open.
The built-for-purpose complex where this tournament plays out is called le Stade Roland-Garros - Roland Garros Stadium. It gets its name from a compelling personage in recent French history. Before disclosing his details, you should know that he has no overt connection to tennis.
This young aviator and inventor served three years as a prisoner of war. He escaped and was shot down during the final year of the First World War.
Roland Garros loved flying, cycling, football and rugby. He had an entrepreneurial mindset, starting his first car dealership when he was 21 years old. When war broke out in 1914, he didn't baulk at defending his home and country.
A clogged fuel line forced him to land his plane in enemy territory; he was quickly captured and imprisoned. It took him three years to escape, after which he rejoined the skies. He was shot down in an aerial firefight one day before his 30th birthday.
France does not lack worthy persons to name monuments and facilities after. However, Roland Garros represented the best example of courage under fire and innovation in time of need. He was not famous as a tennis player, yet he embodied all the qualities the best players have.
Seen from that perspective, it makes perfect sense to name a tennis complex after someone who didn't favour the sport. Calling the French Open the Roland-Garros keeps him - and, more importantly, his indomitable spirit front and centre. It's one of the reasons the French Open is a special event.
The History of the Roland-Garros
Sports historians and tennis enthusiasts are torn over the French Open's true beginnings. Tennis had been hotly contested in the country since the late 1800s, with tennis clubs springing up across Paris. The two main allegiances broke along these lines:
French Championships
- limited to French tennis club members
- open to women (1897) and doubles (starting in 1902)
- Opened to international players (1925)
World Hard Court Championships
- welcomed international players from the outset (1912)
- 1922 event in Brussels
- recognised international winners
The question lies in these tournaments' global accessibility, which the second one offered from the start. However, it became a moot point after the Four Musketeers of Tennis snagged the Davis Cup in a US tournament.
Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet, and René Lacoste. They were also called the Philadelphia Four because they won the Davis Cup during the 1927 tournament in that city.
These Musketeers' victory drove French tennis authorities to formalise their international presence. These decision-makers received a three-hectare land grant from an already-existing tennis club. Naming the new facility Roland Garros was that club's only condition. Builders took less than a year to complete construction.
The new Stade de Roland Garros hosted the 1928 Davis Cup, shortly before it became home to the French International Championships. From then on, but for a few hiccups - notably, during the Second World War, all French Tennis Federation contests have played out on those clay courts.
Tennis history adds new chapters there, too. Particularly for one player, who holds the record for Men's French Open wins.
Biggest Tennis Tournaments: Top Roland Garros Events
Playing on clay is more challenging than on a hard court. The ball has less bounce and the players must put more emphasis on their footwork. Furthermore, each clay court responds differently because of its composition.
Some of the biggest names in tennis have failed to make their mark on Roland-Garros courts. John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Pete Sampras, all tennis legends, met with defeat at the French Open. Illustrious names in women's tennis have been equally stymied. That roster includes Venus Williams, Virginia Wade and Martina Hingis.
The Stade Roland Garros courts make for unusual game dynamics. The 1984 tournament was one instance of such. Tennis superstar Ivan Lendl faced off against the up-and-coming Björn Borg, across five sets. Contrary to all expectations, the newcomer captured the cup.
Ukrainian player Andrei Medvedev suffered a similar upset. He'd gone into the tournament floundering, but soon found his pace. He defeated six opponents to reach the finals.
His streak continued as he pummelled Andre Agassi, but only for the first two sets. Agassi tapped his power reserves and claimed the win, giving him a career Grand Slam.
Even people who don't follow tennis know about the 2005 Roger Federer - Rafael Nadal stand-off at Roland-Garros. This five-set match lasted four hours; a genuine Battle of the Tennis Legends. Nadal emerged victorious.
Roger Federer would suffer another iconic defeat in 2012, this time, against Novak Djokovic. This energetic player from Serbia performs tennis magic on other courts, but doesn't fare well on clay.
He lost the 2012 French Open to Rafael Nadal. However, his win over Federer gave him a shot at holding all four major tournament titles at once. The Australian tennis legend, Rod Laver, was the last men's singles player to accomplish that feat, in 1969.
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Famous Tennis Tournaments: Facts About the Roland-Garros
Earlier, you read that the Stade Roland-Garros is smaller than other Grand Slam tennis venues. This complex boasts 18 courts, compared to Wimbledon's total of 37 and the Australian Open complex's 39. Still, our Stade commands an impressive footprint in the Paris urban environment.
You may also have noticed that, sometimes, the name is hyphenated and other times, it isn't. That's due to a French grammar rule. When talking about the person, their first and last names stand apart. However, when a person's name describes a place or event, you must join the names with a hyphen.
The Roland-Garros courts are not really clay. They are a four-layer rock composition, with larger rocks as the bottom layer, which are covered with gravel. Coal residue and volcanic rock form the third layer, which supports a layer of crushed limestone. A layer of crushed red bricks gives the courts their reddish appearance.
Traditional clay courts were notorious for their drainage issues. After a rainfall, it could take days for such a court to dry out enough for a match. These courts' rocky layers pull water down from the court's surface without absorbing it. And, unlike grass courts and hard courts, playing on a slightly damp clay court is recommended.
The Coupe des Mousquetaires is the trophy for the Men's Singles. Ladies' Singles winners receive the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen. The men's trophy commemorates the Musketeers you learned about earlier in this article. The women's trophy celebrates the French tennis legend who won eight consecutive Grand Slam titles between 1921 and 1926.
Neither the men's nor the women's winner takes the actual cup home. The men's cup stays with the French Tennis Federation; the women's remains in the National Sports Museum in Nice, France. Tournament winners take home replica silver trophies that are slightly smaller than their originals.
Stade Roland-Garros was the last of the biggest tennis tournament venues to install a roof over its principal court (in 2020). This centre court bears the name of the French Tennis Federation's first President.
Toward the end of May, Court Philippe Chatrier will welcome tennis hopefuls looking for their first Grand Slam title. It will welcome back the Masters of Clay - Nadal, Świątek and all the players who excel on this surface. Before everyone gets there, you should pick up your guide to the French Open, so you'll know what to expect.
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