French Open
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French Open

The French Open (French: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (French: [ʁɔlɑ̃ ɡaʁos]), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam tennis events every year, held after the Australian Open and before Wimbledon and the US Open. It was established in 1891 but it did not become a Grand Slam event until 1925.

The French Open begins in late May and continues for two weeks. The tournament and venue are named after the French aviator Roland Garros.

The French Open is the premier clay court championship in the world and the only Grand Slam tournament currently held on this surface. Until 1975, the French Open was the only major tournament not played on grass. Between the seven rounds needed for a championship, the clay surface characteristics (slower pace, higher bounce), and the best-of-five-set men's singles matches, the French Open is widely regarded as the most physically demanding tournament in tennis.

Officially named in French Internationaux de France de Tennis ("French Internationals of Tennis"), the tournament uses the name Roland-Garros in all languages, and it is usually called the French Open in English.

In 1891, the Championnat de France, which is commonly referred to in English as the "French Championships", began. This was only open to tennis players who were members of French clubs. The first winner was H. Briggs, a Briton who resided in Paris and was a member of the Club Stade Français. In the final, he defeated P. Baigneres in straight sets. The first women's singles tournament, with four entries, was held in 1897. The mixed doubles event was added in 1902 and the women's doubles in 1907. In the period of 1915–1919, no tournament was organized due to World War I. This tournament was played until 1924, using four venues:

In 1925, the French Championships became open to all amateurs internationally and was designated a major championship by the International Lawn Tennis Federation. It was held on clay courts at the Stade Français in Saint-Cloud (site of the previous World Hard Court Championships) in 1925 and 1927. In 1926 the Croix-Catelan of the Racing Club de France hosted the event in Paris, the site of the previous French club members only tournament, also on clay.

Another clay court tournament, called the World Hard Court Championships, is sometimes considered the true precursor to the modern French Open as it admitted international competitors. This was held at Stade Français in Saint-Cloud, from 1912 to 1914, 1920, 1921 and 1923, with the 1922 event held in Brussels, Belgium. Winners of this tournament included world No. 1s such as Anthony Wilding from New Zealand (1913, 1914) and Bill Tilden from the US (1921). In 1924 there was no World Hard Court Championships due to tennis being played at the Paris Olympic Games in Colombes.

After the Mousquetaires or Philadelphia Four (René Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, and Jacques Brugnon) won the Davis Cup on American soil in 1927, the French decided to defend the cup in 1928 at a new tennis stadium at Porte d'Auteuil. The Stade de France had offered the tennis authorities three hectares of land with the condition that the new stadium must be named after the World War I aviator hero Roland Garros. The new Stade de Roland Garros (whose central court was renamed Court Philippe Chatrier in 2001) hosted that Davis Cup challenge. On 24 May 1928, the French International Championships moved there, and the event has been held there ever since.

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