The French Open Tennis has an intriguing history. The event:
Dates back to 1891 with the first womens tournament in 1897.
French Open Tennis was first held in Paris.
French Open Tennis is 112 years old
Originated in England
Began with a one-day national championship.
French Open went international in 1925
French open tennis was not held officially from 1939-45, during the World War-II.
The period after the war is said to be the Golden Era in French Tennis.
French Open Tennis was initially played on grass.
A red- clay court was first introduced in 1921.
French open is officially referred to as the Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros
French open tennis currently held at the Stade Roland Garros.
The Stade Roland Garros became the home of French Open Tennis after the Four French Musketeers- Jacques “Toto” Brugnon, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Ren Lacoste defeated Americans at the Davis Cup in 1927.
In the history of French Open Tennis, the first players to take home the French Open Championships were:
Franoise Masson for the first womens tournament in 1897
Rose wall for being the first to claim the French Open’s 15,000 francs prize money
Henri Cochet for winning the first French open men’s title in the inaugural year at the Stade Roland Garros in 1928.
Althea Gibson for becoming the first African-American player to win a Grand Slam event in 1956
French Open has come a long way since its humble beginning. Presently, the French Open Tennis Championship:
Is held in Paris, France
French open ranks second in the Grand Slam tournaments after Australian Open
French open tennis declares a prize money of 15, 264, 500 Francs
French open grand slam event held outdoors on a clay court.
This event is considered one of the toughest and physically demanding games.
French open tennis has been inaugurated on a Sunday and 12 singles matches are being played across three courts since 2006.
French open announced equal prize money for men’s tournament and women’s tournament since 2007.
French Open Tennis Clay Court:
Playing on a clay court is different from the traditional lawn-tennis in many ways.
A clay court reduces the speed of the ball.
On the red clay of Roland, the ball’s forward speed is converted to upward bounce.
The hitter gets a higher point of contact and a little more time.
Requires special skill and practice to get accustomed to the clay court surface.
Clay court favors baseline players and heavy top-spinners
A clay court facilitates longer swings from below to above the point of contact.
Players who specialize in playing on clay courts(French Open Tennis) are:
Rafael Nadal,
Gustavo Kuerten and
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Bjorn Borg
Henri Cochet
Gustavo Kuerten
Rene Lacoste
Ivan Lendl
Mats Wilander
Famous players who are not suited to play on the clay court are:
Pete Sampras
Roger Federer
Jimmy Connors
Lindsay Davenport,
Maria Sharapova, and
Martina Hingis
Dimensions of the French Open Tennis Clay Court
Length of clay court is 78 feet (23.77 m)
oClay court width for singles matches: 27 feet (8.23 m)
oClay court for doubles matches: 36 feet (10.97 m).
Net: net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts, and 3 feet (914 mm) high in the center.
Additional clear space around the clay court: 60 feet by 120 feet.
Deuce court is the court on the right side of each player.
The court on the left side of each player is called the ad court.
Roland Garros and The French Open Tennis:
Roland Garros was a dare-devil aviator during the First World War.
Roland Garros was the first man to fly over the Mediterranean Sea in 1913.
Garros was an honored member of the Stade Francaise.
Stade Francaise was handed over to the French Tennis Federation on the condition that it is named after Roland Garros.
The stadium was named after this legendary pilot a decade after Roland death.
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