French Open
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
The French Open (French: Internationaux de France de tennis), officially branded 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 the second of the four Grand Slam tennis events every year, held after the Australian Open and before Wimbledon and the US Open. It started in 1891 but became a Grand Slam event in 1925.
The French Open begins in late May and lasts for two weeks. The tournament and venue are named after the French aviator Roland Garros.
The French Open is the main clay court tournament in the world and the only Grand Slam played on this surface. Until 1975, the French Open was the only major tournament not played on grass. The clay surface makes the French Open a very challenging tournament.
History
The French Open is officially called Internationaux de France de Tennis in French, but it is known as Roland-Garros in all languages. In English, we usually call it the French Open.
The French Open started in 1891 as the Championnat de France, and was first called the "French Championships" in English. At first, only members of French tennis clubs could play. The first winner was H. Briggs, a Briton living in Paris. The women’s singles began in 1897. The tournament did not happen between 1915 and 1919 because of World War I. In 1925, the French Championships opened to players from all over the world and became a major championship. The tournament moved to its current home, Stade Roland Garros, in 1928. During World War II, the tournament did not happen in 1940 and from 1941 to 1945, but these events are not counted by the French Tennis Federation. In 1968, the French Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to let both amateur and professional players compete.
Surface
The French Open is special because it is the only major tennis tournament played on clay courts. Since 1978, the French Open has used slow clay courts, while other big tournaments use hard courts. The clay makes the ball bounce higher and slower, changing the game and helping some players.
Many famous players have won the French Open, showing they can play well on clay. The clay courts use human line judges, not fully automated calls. Players can ask the chair umpire to check close calls by looking at the marks left in the clay. The clay courts are made from red clay dust, crushed limestone, coal aggregate, crushed gravel, and drain rock fragments.
Trophies
The winners of the French Open receive special trophies made of pure silver, crafted by the Parisian jewelry house Mellerio dits Meller. Each winner’s name is added to the base of their trophy, and they also get a smaller replica to keep.
The men’s singles winner receives the Coupe des Mousquetaires, named after the "Four Musketeers". The women’s singles winner gets the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen (Suzanne Lenglen Cup), named after a famous tennis player. Both trophies are kept by the French Tennis Federation after the winners receive their replicas.
Prize money and ranking points
For the 2025 French Open, the prize money was €56.352 million. This is a little more than the 2024 edition.
Players earn points in the tournament. These points help decide their rankings. Both men and women have their own rules for getting points.
| Event | Winner | Finalist | Semifinals | Quarterfinals | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Round of 64 | Round of 128 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 |
| Singles | €2,550,000 | €1,275,000 | €690,000 | €440,000 | €265,000 | €168,000 | €117,000 | €78,000 | €43,000 | €29,500 | €21,000 |
| Doubles1 | €590,000 | €295,000 | €148,000 | €80,000 | €43,500 | €27,500 | €17,500 | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a |
| Mixed doubles1 | €122,000 | €61,000 | €31,000 | €17,500 | €10,000 | €5,000 | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a |
| Wheelchair singles | €63,900 | €31,950 | €20,600 | €12,360 | €8,750 | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a |
| Wheelchair doubles1 | €21,650 | €11,350 | €8,250 | €5,150 | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a |
| Quad wheelchair singles | €63,900 | €31,950 | €20,600 | €12,360 | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a |
| Quad wheelchair doubles1 | €21,650 | €11,350 | €8,250 | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a |
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Round of 64 | Round of 128 | Q | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 |
| Men's singles | 2000 | 1300 | 800 | 400 | 200 | 100 | 50 | 10 | 25 | 16 | 8 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's doubles | 0 | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | ||||||
| Women's singles | 780 | 430 | 240 | 130 | 70 | 10 | 40 | 30 | 20 | 2 | ||
| Women's doubles | 10 | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a |
Champions
The French Open, also called Roland-Garros, has had many champions over the years. Winners receive special trophies. The men's singles winner gets the Coupe des Mousquetaires. The women's singles winner gets the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen. There are also trophies for men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. You can learn more about all the champions here.
Carlos Alcaraz, the 2025 men's singles champion Coco Gauff, the 2025 women's singles champion Marcel Granollers was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2025. Horacio Zeballos was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2025. Sara Errani was part of the winning women's and mixed doubles team in 2025. Jasmine Paolini was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2025. Andrea Vavassori was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2025. |
| 2025 event | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | 4–6, 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(10–2) | ||
| Women's singles | 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 6–4 | ||
| Men's doubles | 6–0, 6–7(5–7), 7–5 | ||
| Women's doubles | 6–4, 2–6, 6–1 | ||
| Mixed doubles | 6–4, 6–2 | ||
Records
The French Championships started in 1891. At first, only members of French clubs could play. In 1925, the tournament opened to players from around the world. It became known as the French Open in 1968 when professional players were allowed to compete. For more details, see WHCC.
| Record | Era | Player(s) | Count | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men since 1891 | ||||
| Most singles titles | Open Era | 14 | 2005–2008, 2010–2014, 2017–2020, 2022 | |
| Amateur Era | 4 | 1926, 1928, 1930, 1932 ● World Hard Court Championships: 1922 | ||
| French Championships* | 8 | 1903–1904, 1907–1909, 1912–1914 | ||
| Most consecutive singles titles | Open Era | 5 | 2010–2014 | |
| Amateur Era | 2 | 1948–1949 1951–1952 1954–1955 1959–1960 | ||
| French Championships* | 4 | 1897–1900 | ||
| Most doubles titles | Open Era | 4 | 2007 with Mark Knowles, 2010 with Nenad Zimonjić, 2011, 2012 with Max Mirnyi. 2005, 2006 with Jonas Björkman, 2011, 2012 with Daniel Nestor. | |
| Amateur Era | 6 | 1960, 1962 with Neale Fraser, 1961 with Rod Laver, 1963 with Manuel Santana, 1964 with Ken Fletcher, 1965 with Fred Stolle. | ||
| French Championships* | 13 | 1902–1909, 1911–1914, 1920 | ||
| Most consecutive doubles titles | Open Era | 3 | 2010–2012 | |
| Amateur Era | 6 | 1960–1965 | ||
| French Championships* | 10 | 1906–1914, 1920 | ||
| Most mixed doubles titles | Open Era | 3 | 1968, 1971, 1973 with Françoise Dürr. | |
| Amateur Era | 3 | 1963–1965 with Margaret Court. | ||
| French Championships* | 7 | 1904–1906, 1908–1909, 1914 and 1920 with Suzanne Lenglen. | ||
| Most Championships (singles, doubles & mixed doubles) | Open Era | 14 | 2005–2008, 2010–2014, 2017–2020, 2022 (14 singles) | |
| French Championships* | 28 | 1902–1920 (8 singles, 13 doubles, 7 mixed) | ||
| Women since 1897 | ||||
| Most singles titles | Open Era | 7 | 1974–1975, 1979–1980, 1983, 1985–1986 | |
| French Championships* | 6 | 1920–1923, 1925–1926 ● World Hard Court Championships: 1914, 1921–23 | ||
| Most consecutive singles titles | Open Era | 3 | 1990–1992 2005–2007 2022–2024 | |
| French Championships* | 4 | 1909–1912 1920–1923 | ||
| Most doubles titles | Open Era | 7 | 1975 with Chris Evert, 1982 with Anne Smith, 1984–1985, 1987, 1988 with Pam Shriver, 1986 with Andrea Temesvári. | |
| French Championships* | 6 | 1933, 1934 with Elizabeth Ryan, 1936–1937, 1938 with Billie Yorke, 1939 with Jadwiga Jędrzejowska. | ||
| Most consecutive doubles titles | Open Era | 5 | 1984–1985, 1987–1988 with Pam Shriver, 1986 with Andrea Temesvári. 1991 with Jana Novotná, 1992–95 with Natasha Zvereva. | |
| French Championships* | 5 | 1967–1971 | ||
| Most mixed doubles titles | Open Era | 3 | 1968, 1971, 1973 with Jean-Claude Barclay. | |
| French Championships* | 7 | 1914, 1920 with Max Decugis, 1921–1923, 1925, 1926 with Jacques Brugnon. | ||
| Most Championships (singles, doubles & mixed doubles) | Open Era | 11 | 1974–1988 (2 singles, 7 doubles, 2 mixed) | |
| French Championships* | 15 | 1919–1926 (6 singles, 2 doubles, 7 mixed) | ||
| Wheelchair: singles and doubles since 2007, quads since 2019 | ||||
| Most singles titles | Men | 8 | 2007–2010, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022 | |
| Women | 6 | 2007–2012 | ||
| Quads | 3 | 2019–2021 | ||
| Most consecutive singles titles | Men | 4 | 2007–2010 | |
| Women | 6 | 2006–2009 | ||
| Quads | 3 | 2019–2021 | ||
| Most doubles titles | Men | 8 | 2007–2011, 2013–2015 | |
| Women | 9 | 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018–2022, 2024 | ||
| Quads | 3 | 2019–2022 | ||
| Most consecutive doubles titles | Men | 5 | 2020–2024 2020–2024 | |
| Women | 5 | 2018–2022 2018–2022 | ||
| Quads | 3 | 2019–2022 | ||
| Miscellaneous | ||||
| Unseeded champions | Men | 1982 1997 2004 | ||
| Women | 1933 2017 2020 2021 | |||
| Youngest singles champion | Men | 17 years and 3 months (1989) | ||
| Women | 16 years and 6 months (1990) | |||
| Oldest singles champion | Men | 36 years and 20 days (2023) | ||
| Women | 33 years and 10 months (1958) | |||
Media coverage and broadcasting
France Télévisions and Amazon Prime Video show the French Open until 2027. All night sessions are only on Prime Video. In the United States, NBC first showed the tournament. Then Tennis Channel took over. Now, TNT Sports will show the matches starting in 2025. In the United Kingdom, the BBC used to show the finals. Now Eurosport has the rights. In India, Star Sports used to have the rights. Now Sony Pictures Sports Network shows the matches. Across Europe (except France), Eurosport broadcasts the tournament until 2030.
Brand identity
The logo of Roland-Garros shows an “RG” monogram with the tournament’s name. It uses a special font for all its pictures.
Since 1980, a new artist has made a poster for the tournament each year. The poster for 2026 was made by the artist JR. In 2014, Roland-Garros also added a sonic identity. This was made by the agency Sixième Son. It plays when players enter, when the trophy is given out, and when results are announced.
Ball boys and ball girls
Every year, 280 ball boys and ball girls help at the French Open. They are between 11 and 16 years old and wear special Lacoste shirts and shorts. To become a ball boy or girl, children must apply through the French Tennis Federation. Many children apply each year. After being chosen, they receive training before the tournament.
Images
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on French Open, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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