French Open

Overview

The French Open is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, held annually between the months of May and June. This tournament is better known under the name of Roland Garros, named after a famous French aviator. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam competition held on a turf made of clay when played indoors.

Players

Roland Garros is played in men’s, women’s and doubles categories. One of the sport’s finest, Rafael Nadal, is leading the top list of most titles won (9), while Chris Evert holds the same acknowledgement in the women’s division, with 7 titles. Stan Wawrinka is the current singles champion in the men’s division, while one of the best female tennis players in history, Serena Williams, holds the title in the women’s division.

History

The French Open was founded 124 years ago, in 1891. It is played in Paris, France. The tournament is recognized for being played on clay mostly throughout its existence. Clay pitches have a larger effect on the ball, slowing it down and producing higher bounces. This takes away the advantage of players whose strong suites are big servings and volleys. This is why a number of top tennis professionals today have still not won the French Open.

The course of this tournament remained largely unchanged throughout history, even during the World War periods. The tournament is scheduled to transfer to new courts by the year of 2019, a change many of the players still oppose to, leaving the final decision still up in the air.

Today

The French Open is one of the four Grand Slams, and given its prestige, it’s natural to assume that it has an impressive prize pool (€28,000,000). The prize pool is evenly distributed between men’s and women’s players, where the winner gets €1,800,000.

Roland Garros is always a glamorous and prestigious event, so make sure to catch it at the start of every summer. It can’t be missed if you’re a tennis fan.