History of Roland Garros

The French Open, officially named Internationaux de France de Tennis in French, is one of the four Grand Slam events in the tennis calendar. Also referred to as Roland Garros, the 129th edition of the tournament will be played from May 25, 2025, to June 8, 2025. It is a premier clay court event that will feature 128 players in singles and 64 teams in doubles. Chronologically, it is the second Grand Slam tournament of the season. The winner of the showpiece clay court tournament will receive 2000 points and €2,550,000 as prize money for the singles and €590,000 for the doubles category winners.

Some of the legendary names who have won the Grand Slam in the past include Serena Williams, Novak Djoković, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, and Chris Evert. Iga Swiatek won the 2024 French Open title in the women's category, while the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz emerged victorious in men's singles. In 2025, players such as Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Novak Djoković, and Alexander Zverev, among others, will be vying for the title.

French Open history

Being an integral part of the heritage of France, the French Open legend began 135 years ago, in 1891. The story of Roland Garros began with the creation of the Championnat de France, commonly referred to in English as the French Championships. Initially, the tournament was reserved for the players who were members of French clubs. The first French national championships were held in 1891 in the Stade Français, as a men’s interclub competition. The first winner was H. Briggs, a Briton who resided in Paris.

Women’s singles matches were added to tournament play in 1897. There were only four entries for the first women’s singles tournament. The mixed doubles event was added in 1902, and five years later, the women’s doubles were introduced. Roland Garros was not held from 1915 to 1919 because of World War I. The first big change to the tournament came in 1925 when it was opened up to players from other countries, and the “French Open” was born. Between 1891 and 1924, the tournament was held at venues alternating between the Stade Français, the Parc de Saint-Cloud, and the Racing Club de France’s Croix-Catelan grounds. Max Decugis was the hero of this era and won eight titles between 1903 and 1914.

Henri Cochet, René Lacoste, Jean Borotra and Jacques Brugnon – the famous Musketeers won the Davis Cup on American soil in 2017. This win brought about the building of a new stadium at Porte d’Auteuil to defend the cup in 1928. This arena would be named after the World War I pilot and a pioneer in aviation, Roland Garros.

During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, the tournament was held on the same grounds, but these editions are not recognized officially. After this hiatus, international players started dominating the tournament with players like Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, and Margaret Court.

In 1968, the French Championship became the first Grand Slam to allow both amateurs and professionals to compete. During the 1970s, Bjorn Borg, with six men’s singles titles, and Chris Evert, with a record seven women’s singles titles, dominated the tournament. The stadium’s first major expansion came in 1979 with an increase from five to ten courts. Further expansions were carried out in 1986. During 1992-1994, the stadium capacity was increased to include 20 courts, expanding over 8.5 hectares.

The likes of Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander dominated the 1980s with three titles each in men’s singles. The latter part of the decade saw the rise of Steffi Graf, who went on to win six women’s singles titles at Roland-Garros. In the following two decades, the tournament was dominated by Spanish players like Arantxa Sanchez, Carlos Moya, and Albert Costa, with Rafael Nadal leading this club. Nadal won a record 14 French Open titles between 2005 and 2022 and is known as the “King of Clay”. Other greats of the sport have also won the Roland Garros in the past, including Bill Tilden, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Martina Hingis, and Venus Williams.