The French Open is only a few days away with the qualifiers drawing to an end. Like last year, we won’t see Roger Federer playing in the tournament this time either. Rafael Nadal will be a heavy favourite to complete a third La Decima of this year by winning a record-bettering 10th French Open title.
Novak Djokovic will also be a strong contender to win the title. Top seed Andy Murray has not been in the best of form lately but he cannot be written off.
Since 1891, the French Open has seen numerous great players showcasing their talent on clay and has witnessed several enthralling moments. However, there are a number of facts about the tournament that the general public might not know. Here are a few facts about the tournament that you may not be well acquainted with.
#7 The first ever winner of the French Open was a Briton
The French Open was first established in 1891, ten years after the inaugural US Open, and 14 years after the inaugural edition of the Wimbledon Championships. The inaugural edition of the tournament was held on the grounds of the Cercle des Sport de l'Ile Puteaux which was located in the western suburbs of Paris.
The tournament was won by a Briton named H. Briggs who was a resident of Paris. Briggs defeated a Frenchman, P. Baigneres 6-3, 6-4 in the final. After Briggs, Fred Perry was the only Briton to win the French Open in 1935.
#6 The French Open went international in 1925
When it was established in 1891, the French Open was only open to the members of French tennis clubs and Paris residents till 1924. During that time, the tournament used to be played at four different venues: Île de Puteaux, in Puteaux, The Racing Club de France at the Bois de Bologne, Paris, the Société Athlétique de la Villa Primrose in Bordeaux, and the Tennis Club de Paris at Auteuil, Paris.
In 1925, the French Open allowed amateurs from all nations to participate in the tournament and the competition was held at the Stade Francais in Paris till 1927 before being held at the Stade Roland Garros from 1928 till today.
#5 The tournaments that were held during the second World War weren’t recognised officially
We have learned that several sporting events like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup were not held during both the World Wars. The French Open was also not contested during the first World War but was contested during the second World War from 1941-1945.
However, these tournaments were never recognised as official tournaments. In 1941 and 1942, the tournament was won by Bernard Destremau and from 1943-1945, by Yvon Petra who was a prisoner during the Second World War.
#4 The Women’s singles tournament began six years after the first Men’s Singles tournament
The French Open began in 1891 but till 1897, only the Men’s Singles tournament was held. The first Women’s singles tournament was held in 1897 with only four entrants who were residents of Paris.
The first ever French Open Women’s Singles title was won by France’s Adine Masson who defeated compatriot P. Birod 6-3, 6-1 in the final. Masson won the tournament another four times in 1898, 1899, 1902, and 1903, beating Birod in the 1902 final.
#3 The Doubles tournaments were introduced during the 20th century
We have already learned that the Women’s Singles tournaments were introduced six years after the inaugural Men’s Singles tournament. However, the Doubles tournaments were introduced in the 20th century.
The first Doubles tournament to have been introduced at the French Open was the mixed Doubles in 1902. The first winners of the Mixed Doubles tournament were the French duo of Helene Prevost and Reginald Forbes who beat the duo of Adine Masson and W.Masson.
The Women’s Doubles tournament was introduced in 1907 with Adine Masson and Yvonne de Pfoeffel being the inaugural champions. The Men’s Doubles were not introduced until 1925 and Jean Borotra and Rene Lacoste were the inaugural winners, defeating Henri Cochet and Jacques Brugnon.
#2 It was the first Grand Slam to go “Open”
When it was first established in 1891, the French Open was known as the Championnat de France or the French Championships. Even after the tournament became open to international amateurs, the tournament was still named as the French Championships.
In 1968, the tournament began to be known as the French Open and was the first Grand Slam to go “open” with the US Open going open later in the same year and the Australian Open going Open in 1969.
#1 Who is Roland Garros?
The first thing which come to people’s minds after hearing the words “Roland Garros” is “who is Roland Garros”? Eugene Adrien Roland Georges Garros was a French aviator who was a pilot during the First World War.
He developed the technology of firing a machine gun through a plane’s propeller arc and shot down four enemy aircrafts during the First World War. Garros was shot down and killed in 1918, just a day before his 30th birthday.
A decade after his death, a tennis centre which Garros used to visit religiously was named in his honour as the Stade Roland Garros and since then, the French Open has been played there.
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