Roland Garros: The French Open
The French Open (Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros or Tournoi de Roland Garros) is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between mid-May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments in the annual tennis calendar and the most important clay court tennis tournament in the world. It is one of the most prestigious events in tennis and has the widest broadcast and audience worldwide of any event in the sport.
History
Officially known in French as the Championnats Internationaux de France de Tennis and known in English as Roland Garros, it is a remarkable tournament in the international sporting calendar and an integral part of France’s heritage. Its legend began 128 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 Championship or, sometimes, the French Clay Court Championship. Initially, the tournament was reserved for players who were members of French clubs. The first French national championships were held in 1891 at the Stade Francais as a competition between men’s clubs. The first winner was H. Briggs, a Briton living in Paris.
Women’s singles matches were added to the tournament 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, women’s doubles was introduced. The tournament was not held from 1915 to 1919 due to World War I. The first major change to the tournament came in 1925, when it was opened to players from other countries and the “French Open” was born. Between 1891 and 1924, the tournament was held at alternating venues between Stade Francais, Parc de Saint-Cloud, and Racing Club de France, Croix-Catelan. Max Decugis was the hero of this era, winning 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 1927. This victory led to the construction of a new stadium at Porte d’Auteuil to defend the cup in 1928. It would be named after World War I pilot and aviation pioneer Roland Garros.
During World War II from 1941 to 1945, the tournament was held on the same grounds, but these editions are not officially recognized. After this hiatus, the English-speaking world began to dominate the tournament with players such as Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, and Margaret Court, the latter still holding the record for the most Roland Garros titles with 13, consisting of five in singles, four in women’s doubles, and four in mixed doubles, between 1962 and 1973.
In 1968, the French Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to become open, allowing both amateurs and professionals to compete. In 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 first major expansion of the stadium took place in 1979, with an increase from five to ten courts. Further expansions were carried out in 1986 and between 1992 and 1994, bringing the total to the current size of 20 courts spread over 8.5 hectares.
Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander dominated the 1980s with three men’s singles titles each. The latter part of the decade saw the rise of Steffi Graf, who won women’s singles titles at Roland Garros. Over the next two decades, the tournament was dominated by Spanish players such as Arantxa Sanchez, Sergi Bruguera, Carlos Moya, Albert Costa, and Juan Carlos Ferrero, with Rafael Nadal leading the pack. Nadal won a record 14 French Open titles between 2005 and 2022 and is rightly known as the “King of Clay.” At the same time, many of the game’s greats have failed to get their hands on the prize, including Bill Tilden, Maria Bueno, Jimmy Connors, Louise Brough, Virginia Wade, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Martina Hingis, and Venus Williams.
ETIQUETTE
The French are known for their etiquette in everyday life, so it’s no surprise that this extends to Roland Garros.
At the US Open, people talk constantly, pop music plays during breaks to keep the crowd entertained, and people come and go from their seats as they please. At the French Open, movement and noise are highly regulated. Silence and discipline are expected. Moving from your assigned seat is only allowed when players are on break, so as not to disturb them.
The French also seem to instinctively know when it is polite and appropriate to applaud. For example, they applaud for a point won in a good game, but they never applaud for a point scored when a player misses a shot or makes a double fault.
In general, this etiquette creates a much calmer and more focused atmosphere. It’s tennis, not a show.
ATMOSPHERE
The French Open has long been a daytime tournament. As the courts are not floodlit, play ends around dusk.
There is no dome over the Roland Garros courts to protect the sport from the weather, so if it rains, play stops completely. This means that participants must be prepared with layers for all types of weather and wait patiently for the matches to resume.
However, the Philippe-Chatrier main court now has a retractable roof and night lighting.
Embrace the French character of the tournament and you will have an extremely enjoyable day at the French Open!
Playing surface
While the playing surface at Roland Garros is invariably described as “red clay,” the courts are actually covered with white limestone covered with a few millimeters of red brick dust. Underneath the 3-inch (7.6 cm) layer of porous limestone is 6 inches (15 cm) of volcanic rock, followed by 3 feet (91 cm) of sand, all supported by a concrete slab. The crushed brick is pressed onto the limestone surface with rollers, then moistened with water. The process is repeated several times until a thin, compact layer covers each court. The crushed brick is deep enough to allow for footprints and ball marks, but shallow enough to prevent the court from becoming spongy or slippery. In tournament situations, workers smooth the surface before matches and between sets, pulling rectangular lengths of chain mail across it. Red brick dust is replenished as needed (daily during major tournaments).
The surface was a state-of-the-art solution in 1928 to the biggest problem with natural clay courts: poor drainage. At that time, it was not uncommon for clay surfaces to be unplayable for two to three days, even after short periods of rainfall. The combination of crushed limestone/brick, originally developed in the UK, replaced and looked similar to clay without the drainage problems of clay, thus making natural clay obsolete as a tennis court surface. Since then, a multitude of other “quick-drying” synthetic clay surfaces have been developed. Courts covered with these materials are used much like natural clay surfaces and are collectively classified as “clay courts,” despite the fact that few, if any, true clay courts have been built in nearly a century. The diversity in the composition of different “clay” surfaces around the world explains the extraordinary variability in their playing characteristics.
Roland Garros courts
Philippe Chatrier Court
Philippe Chatrier Court was built in 1928 as the centerpiece of the Roland Garros Stadium and remains its main venue. It has a capacity of 15,225 spectators after a renovation in 2019. The court was known simply as the “Central Court” until 2001, when it was renamed after the long-time president of the Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT), who helped restore tennis as a sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
The four main spectator stands are named after Les Quatre Mousquetaires—Brugnon, Borotra, Cochet, and Lacoste—in honor of their success in the Davis Cup, which led to the construction of the facility and the stadium. As another tribute, the trophy awarded each year to the men’s singles champion at the French Open is known as La Coupe des Mousquetaires.
After the 2018 tournament, the stadium was demolished down to its foundations and rebuilt with steeper stands, in time for the 2019 tournament. A retractable roof and floodlights were added in time for the 2020 tournament, which was postponed until September of that year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Suzanne Lenglen Court
Built in 1994 and originally designated “Court A,” Court Suzanne Lenglen is the secondary stadium with a capacity of 10,068 spectators. Its namesake, an international celebrity and the first true star of women’s tennis, won 31 major tournaments, including six French Open titles and six Wimbledon championships, between 1914 and 1926. Known as La Divine (“The Divine One”) and La Grand Dame (“The Grand Lady”) of French tennis, she also won two Olympic gold medals in Antwerp in 1920. A bronze bas-relief of Lenglen, created by Italian sculptor Vito Tongiani, is located above the east tunnel, the entrance to the stadium. The trophy awarded each year to the women’s singles champion at the French Open is named La Coupe Suzanne Lenglen in her honor. The court has an underground irrigation system, the first of its kind, to control the moisture level of its surface.
In 1994, the walkway between Court Chatrier and Court Lenglen was named Allée Marcel Bernard, in honor of the French champion of the 1940s, who died that year.
Simonne Mathieu Court
The new 5,000-seat tertiary venue at Roland Garros Stadium was completed in March 2019 on the site of the Jardin des Serres d’Auteuil. It is named after the women’s singles champion in 1938 and 1939, who is also remembered as a leader of the French Resistance during World War II. The court was built four meters below ground level, with greenhouses on all four sides. It was built to replace Court 1, which was demolished.
Court 1
Court 1, once the tertiary location of the facility and nicknamed the “Bullring” because of its circular shape, was demolished in 2019. Its architect, Jean Lovera, a former French junior champion, designed the 3,800-seat structure as a deliberate contrast to the adjacent, angular Philippe Chatrier court. Built in 1980, the bullring was a favorite among serious tennis fans due to its relatively small size and the feeling of closeness to the action. An unusual design feature was its press seats in the front row at court level, behind the south baseline.
Court 1 has been the scene of several memorable upsets at the French Open, such as Gustavo Kuerten’s third-round victory as an unseeded player against former fifth-seeded champion Thomas Muster in 1997 on his way to his first of three Open titles; and the defeat of third seed Gabriela Sabatini—after leading 6–1, 5–1 and five match points—to Mary Joe Fernandez in the 1993 quarterfinals. It was also the site of Marat Safin’s famous “dropped pants” match against Félix Mantilla in 2004.
Demolition of Court 1 began shortly after the end of the 2019 tournament and the inauguration of the new tertiary location, Court Simonne Mathieu. In its place, a greatly enlarged Place des Mousquetaires was built, where spectators can watch matches on a large video screen.
GRAND SLAM PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 2023
Fifty-one junior and professional players will receive Grand Slam Player Grants for the 2023 season through the support of the Grand Slam Player Development Program.
Established by the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments in 1986, the Grand Slam Player Development Program strives to inspire players from developing tennis countries and regions by ensuring they have access to greater competitive opportunities internationally, including in Grand Slam tournaments. Since its inception, the Grand Slam Player Development Program has provided over $58 million to support and nurture player development.
In 2022, former Grand Slam Player Grant recipients Ons Jabeur (TUN), Casper Ruud (NOR), and Hubert Hurkacz (POL) all finished the year ranked in the Top 20, with Jabeur meeting fellow recipient Elena Rybakina (KAZ) in the Wimbledon final. Alongside Rybakina, Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, Jelena Ostapenko, and Gustavo Kuerten are fellow Grand Slam champions and also among the Program’s alumni. This year’s Australian Open main draw included 27 former grant recipients in the men’s and women’s singles competitions.
We offer exclusive Hospitality Packages for Roland Garros 2026!
In addition to hospitality packages, we can also offer tickets to matches upon request.
Contact us for a personalized offer tailored to your preferences.
Below you will find information about ticket categories.
Description Price List
Category 3 = Light Blue
Category 2 = Red
Category 1 = Yellow
Category Gold = Orange
VIP Boxes (Gold) = Green
Additional Description
Our “ticket” service includes:
Tennis ticket of your choice (from the categories above)
Delivery of tickets by email (e-tickets), to your mobile phone (mobile tickets), or to your hotel (paper tickets)
Optional:
Flights, transfers, hotels, lunches, dinners, city tours, VIP packages, nightlife, souvenirs, etc. (some services may be offered for a minimum number of people)
Additional information:
Prices are in euros and per person.
Tickets and prices are subject to availability.
Tickets will be for a minimum of 2 connected seats.
Tickets for Court Philippe Chatrier are also valid for all outdoor courts (except Suzanne Lenglen).
Upon request, we can also offer tickets for matches taking place on the Suzanne Lenglen court.
The full names as they appear on the passport of each person attending the event are required; please provide them at least 10 days before the event.
The offer is based on 100% capacity of the venue. Reduced capacity may result in cancellation of the order with a full refund.
Special offers with limited seats! Book early to experience one of the most beautiful Grand Slam tournaments!
We offer you exclusive Hospitality Packages at Roland Garros 2026!
