Roland Garros

The French Open, or simply called 'ROLAND GARROS', was founded in 1927 after France had beaten the USA in America in the Davis Cup. Founded in 1891 as a national tournament it developed International status when the stadium was built for the return match of the Davis Cup against the USA. The French Government donated the land and requested the stadium be named 'ROLAND GARROS' after the French World War 1Pilot.

Played on a red clay, from the waste of crushed bricks, it has received the status of the 2nd Grand Slam Tournament of world tennis, and is played annually from mid May to early June. It is Frances' most televised sporting event attracting great interest from all four corners of the globe.

Boffins of the game believe that ROLAND GARROS is the most physically demanding of all the tournaments because of the slow playing surface, the bounce, and the 5 set mens singles title without tie breaks in the final set. The clay surface takes away the advantage of the big servers of the game which is why great stars like Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Stefan Edbreg were never able to win this tournament.

In 1968 the tournament became the first Grand Slam Open, allowing both ameteur and professionals to compete.

There are five divisions in this tournament:-

• Mens singles
• Ladies singles
• Mens doubles
• Ladies doubles
• Mixed doubles