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The French Open is widely regarded as one of the most elusive Slams across the four Majors. Being the only Slam to be played on clay, the French Open is a real test of a player's resilience and stamina.
The boys singles event began in 1947 at the French Open, whereas the girls' singles event started in 1953. A handful of players have been able to assert their dominance at the claycourt Slam during their careers in both juniors and seniors.
Ingo Buding, John Newcombe and Guillermo Perez Roldan were among the players won the junior singles title at the Paris Major twice, but never won the seniors' title. Rafael Nadal, who has won the French Open 13 times as a professional, never won the event as a junior.
On the women's side, Chris Evert won seven French Open titles but never as a junior. Martina Hingis twice won the French Open singles title as a junior. It was the only Slam that the Swiss never won on the senior circuit.
Among the 2022 French Open quarterfinalists in both the men's and women's draws, Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev, Marin Cilic, Daria Kasatkina, Leylah Fernandez and Coco Gauff have won the junior singles title.
Here's a look at eight players who won the French Open title in juniors and seniors
#1 Mima Jausovec
The first player from an ex-Yugoslavian country to win a Slam was Slovenia's Mima Jausovec. In 1973, she won the French Open singles title as a junior. As the top seed four years later, Jausovec defeated Romania's Florenta Mihai in three sets to win the only Slam of her career as a senior.
Jausovec made the finals of the Paris Major in 1978 and 1983, losing to Virginia
Ruzici and Chris Evert respectively.
#2 Ivan Lendl
One of the greatest tennis players of all time, Ivan Lendl won the French Open as a junior in 1978, defeating Sweden's Per Hjertquist in straight sets. A few weeks later, he would win the Wimbledon junior title and complete the Channel Slam as the top-ranked junior player in the world.
Lendl broke and held many records during his time as a professional. He won eight singles Slam titles in total, and was ranked No. 1 for 270 weeks. In 1984, he won the first of his three French Open singles titles. He defeated John McEnroe in the American's only French Open final.
The Czech did it in the most remarkable fashion, winning the match after being two sets to love down. Lendl snapped McEnroe's 42-match win streak with this win.
Lendl would win consecutive titles at Roland Garros in 1986 and 1987, defeating Swedish players Mikael Pernfors and Mats Wilander respectively.
#3 Hana Mandlikova
When the ITF released their first junior rankings in 1978, Hana Mandlikova became the first woman to be ranked No. 1. It was a successful event for Czech players at the junior French Open in 1978, as the boys' singles title was won by Ivan Lendl, and Mandlikova won the girls' title.
Mandlikova's only title at the senior French Open came in 1981. Seeded third, Mandlikova defeated top seed and defending champion Chris Evert in the semifinals, followed by a straight-sets win over sixth seed Sylvia Hanika in the final. A former World No. 3, Mandlikova won four Slams in her career.
#4 Mats Wilander
In 1981, Mats Wilander defeated James Brown 7-5, 6-1, to become the first Swedish player to win the boys' singles title at the Paris Major.
In his first appearance at Roland Garros just a year later, the Swede shocked the world by winning the title after defeating Guillermo Vilas in the final. Wilander was just 17 years old. In 1985, Wilander beat Ivan Lendl in the final to win the second Roland Garros title of his career.
1988 was the best season of Wilander's career. Except for Wimbledon, he won every singles Slam. At the Paris Major, the former World No. 1 defeated 11th seed Henri Leconte in the final to win the third and final Roland Garros title of his career.
#5 Jennifer Capriati
In 1989, Jennifer Capriati created the then record of becoming the youngest player to win the girls' singles title at Roland Garros at the age of 13. She defeated Eva Sviglerova 6-4, 6-0 in the finals. The same year, Capriati won the US Open girls' singles title by defeating Rachel McQuillan in straight sets.
As a senior, 2001 was Capriati's best year. The 1992 Olympic gold-medalist won the Australian Open by defeating Martina Hingis in the final. She later won the second and final Slam of her career, defeating Kim Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10 at the French Open to become the World No. 1.
#6 Justine Henin
Justine Henin won the girls' singles title at Roland Garros in 1997, defeating future doubles World No. 1 Cara Black in the final.
Henin's period of dominance on the professional circuit began in 2003 with her first Slam title at the French Open. She defeated compatriot Kim Clijsters in the final. After a second-round loss at the Paris Major in 2004, Henin returned the following year to win the first of three consecutive Roland Garros titles. She did not drop a set in her triumphs in 2006 and 2007.
#7 Stan Wawrinka
Stan Wawrinka won the boys' singles title at Roland Garros in 2003. Seeded fifth, he defeated sixth seed Brian Baker in three sets in the final.
The Swiss won the Paris Major as a senior in 2015. Wawrinka was seeded eighth and faced top seed Novak Djokovic in the final. The Swiss dented Djokovic's career Grand Slam bid at the time by defeating the Serb in four sets in the final. It marked the second of three Slams that Wawrinka has won in his career.
#8 Simona Halep
Simona Halep won the junior title at the French Open in 2008 after defeating Elena Bogdan in the finals. The win propelled the Romanian to World No. 1 in the junior rankings.
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A decade later, Halep won the women's singles title at the French Open. It was her third final at the Paris Major, having lost the previous two to Maria Sharapova (2014) and Jelena Ostapenko (2017).
She was World No. 1 when she entered the 2018 French Open. As the top seed, she defeated Sloane Stephens in the final to win the first singles Slam of her career.
