The French Open (French: Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros ) is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on the annual tennis calendar and the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam still held on clay and ends the spring clay court season. It is one of the most prestigious events in tennis, [1] and it has the widest worldwide broadcasting and audience of all regular events in this sport. [2] [3] Because of the slow playing surface and the five-set men's singles matches without a tiebreak in the final set, the event is widely considered to be the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world. [4] [5] The singles champions for 2009 are the Swiss Male Roger Federer and the Russian Female Svetlana Kuznetsova.

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History

Officially named in French Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros (the "French Internationals of Roland Garros" or "Roland Garros Tournament" in English), the tournament is often referred to as the "French Open" and always as "Roland Garros" in French.

A French national tournament began in 1891, that was open only to tennis players who were members of French clubs. It was known as the Championat de France International de Tennis . The first women's tournament was held in 1897. This 'French club members only' tournament was played until 1924. Another tournament, the World Hard Court Championships held on Clay courts at Stade Francais in Saint Cloud, which was played from 1912 to 1923 (except the war years), is often considered as the precursor to Roland Garros as it was open to international competitors. Winners of this tournament included world number #1's such as Tony Wilding (1913, 1914) and Bill Tilden (1921). In 1924 there was no World Hard Court Championships due to the tennis being played at the Paris Olympic Games.

In 1925, the French Championships opened itself to international competitors with the event held on a grass surface alternately between the Racing Club de France and the Stade Francais. ^[6] 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 pilot, Roland Garros. The new Stade de Roland Garros, and its Center Court, which was named Court Philippe Chatrier in 1988, hosted that Davis Cup challenge.

From 1945 through 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon, making it the third Grand Slam event of the year.

In 1968, the French Championships became the first Grand Slam tournament to go open, allowing both amateurs and professionals to compete.

Since 1981, new prizes have been presented: the Prix Orange (for the play demonstrating the best sportsmanship and cooperative attitude with the press), the Prix Citron (for the player with the strongest character and personality) and the Prix Bourgeon (for the tennis player revelation of the year).

Another novelty, since 2006 the tournament has begun on a Sunday, featuring 12 singles matches played on the three main courts.

Additionally, on the eve of the tournament's opening, the traditional Benny Berthet exhibition day takes place, where the profits go to different charity associations.

In March 2007, it was announced that the event will provide equal prize money for both men and women in all rounds for the first time ever. ^[7]

Surface characteristics

Clay courts slow down the ball and produce a high bounce when compared to grass courts or hard courts. For this reason, clay courts take away some of the advantages of big serves and serve-and-volleyers, which makes it hard for serve based players to dominate on the surface. For example, Pete Sampras, a player known for his huge serve, never won the French Open (nor even advanced to the final) in his entire career. Similarly, John McEnroe and Venus Williams (who have won several Grand Slam tournaments), Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and Maria Sharapova (who have won every other Grand Slam tournaments), have never won the French Open.

On the other hand, players whose games are more suited to slower surfaces, such as Björn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Rafael Nadal, and Mats Wilander, have found great success at this tournament. In the open era, the only male players who have won both the French Open and Wimbledon, played on faster grass courts, are Rod Laver, Jan Kodeš, Björn Borg, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.

Prize Money

In 2009, the prize money awarded in the men's and women's singles tournaments was equal and distributed as follows: ^[8]

Winner	€1 060 000
Finalist	€530 000
Semi-finalist	€265 000
Quarter-finalist	€132 500
Fourth round	€68 400
Third round	€40 600
Second round	€24 500
First round	€15 000

Champions

• Men's Singles, winner of the Coupe des Mousquetaires
• Women's Singles, winner of the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen
• Men's Doubles, winners of the Coupe Jacques Brugnon
• Women's Doubles, winners of the Coupe Simone Mathieu
• Mixed Doubles, winners of the Coupe Marcel Bernard

The trophies are all made of pure silver with finely etched decorations on their side, each new singles winner gets his or her name written on the plate holding the trophy. Winners receive a replica of the won trophy. Pure silver replicas of the trophies are fabricated and engraved for each winner by the Maison Mellerio, located in the Rue de la Paix, Paris.

Current champions

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
2009	Roger Federer	Robin Söderling	6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
2009	Svetlana Kuznetsova	Dinara Safina	6–4, 6–2

Records

Record	Era	Player(s)	Nos.	Years
Men since 1891
Winner of most men's singles titles	Before 1925:	Max Decugis	8	1903, 1904, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1912, 1913, 1914
	1925-1967:	Henri Cochet	4	1926, 1928, 1930, 1932 Note: Also won World Hard Court Championship in 1922
	After 1967:	Björn Borg	6	1974-75, 1978-81
Winner of most consecutive men's singles titles	Before 1968:	Max Decugis	3	1907-1909, 1912-14
		Frank Parker Jaroslav Drobny Tony Trabert Nicola Pietrangeli	2	1948-49 1951-52 1954-55 1959-60
	After 1967:	Björn Borg Rafael Nadal	4	1978-81 2005-08
Winner of most men's doubles titles	Before 1968:	Max Decugis	14	1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1920
		Roy Emerson	6	1960, 1962 with Neale Fraser, 1961 with Rod Laver, 1963 with Manuel Santana, 1964 with Ken Fletcher, 1965 with Fred Stolle
	After 1967:	Paul Haarhuis Yevgeny Kafelnikov Leander Paes	3	1995, 1998 with Jacco Eltingh, 2002 with Yevgeny Kafelnikov 1996-97 with Daniel Vacek, 2002 with Paul Haarhuis 1999, 2001 with Mahesh Bhupati, 2009 with Lukas Dlouhy
Winner of most consecutive men's doubles titles	Before 1968:	Max Decugis	13	1902-14
		Roy Emerson	6	1960-65
	After 1967:	Gene Mayer Yevgeny Kafelnikov & Daniel Vacek Jonas Bjorkman & Max Mirnyi	2	1978 with Hank Pfister, 1979 with Sandy Mayer 1996-97 2005-06
Winner of most mixed doubles titles - Men	Before 1968:	Max Decugis	7	1904, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1909, 1914 and 1920 with Suzanne Lenglen
	After 1967:	Jean-Claude Barclay	4	1968, 1971, 1973 with Francoise Durr
Winner of most titles (total: singles, doubles, mixed) - men	Before 1968:	Max Decugis	29	1902-1920 (8 singles, 14 doubles, 7 mixed)
	After 1967:	Björn Borg	6	1974-81 (6 singles)
Women since 1897
Winner of most women's singles titles	Before 1968:	Suzanne Lenglen	6	1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926 Note: Also won World Hard Court Championship in 1914, 1921, 1922 & 1923
	After 1967:	Chris Evert	7	1974-75, 1979-80, 1983, 1985-86
Winner of most consecutive women's singles titles	Before 1968:	Suzanne Lenglen	4	1920-23
	After 1967:	Monica Seles Justine Henin	3	1990-92 2005-07
Winner of most women's doubles titles	Before 1968:	Simone Mathieu	6	1933-34 with Elizabeth Ryan, 1936-38 with Billie Yorke, 1939 with Jadwiga Jedrzejowska
	After 1967:	/ Martina Navratilova	7	1975 (with Chris Evert), 1982 with Anne Smith, 1984-85, 1987-88 with Pam Shriver, 1986 with Andrea Temesvari
Winner of most consecutive women's doubles titles	Before 1968:	Francoise Durr	5	1967-71
	After 1967:	/ Martina Navratilova Gigi Fernandez	5	1984-85, 1987-88 with Pam Shriver; 1986 with Andrea Temesvari 1991 with Jana Novotna, 1992-95 with Natasha Zvereva
Winner of most mixed doubles titles - women	Before 1968:	Suzanne Lenglen	7	1914, 1920 with Max Decugis 1921, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926 with Jacques Brugnon
	After 1967:	Francoise Durr	3	1968, 1971, 1973 with Jean-Claude Barclay
Winner of most titles (total: singles, doubles, mixed) - women	Before 1968:	Suzanne Lenglen	15	1919-1926 (6 singles, 2 doubles, 7 mixed)
	After 1967:	/ Martina Navratilova	11	1974-88 (2 singles, 7 doubles, 2 mixed)
Miscellaneous
Youngest winner	Men:	Michael Chang	17 years and 3 months
	Women:	Monica Seles	16 years and 6 months
Unseeded Winners	Men:	Marcel Bernard Mats Wilander Gustavo Kuerten Gaston Gaudio	1946 1982 1997 2004
	Women:	Margaret Scriven	1933

See also

• List of French Open Men's Singles champions and finalists
• List of French Open Women's Singles champions
• List of French Open Men's Doubles champions
• List of French Open Women's Doubles champions
• List of French Open Mixed Doubles champions
• World Hard Court Championships

Grand Slam Tennis

• Australian Open
• French Open (Roland Garros)
• The Championships, Wimbledon
• US Open (tennis)

Notes and references

1. Change Seems Essential to Escape Extinction : Wimbledon: World's Most-Loved Dinosaur
2. Day 15 - Press conference with tournament's management
3. Roland Garros: a venue open all year long. Television Coverage
4. In a year of change at Roland Garros, the winners may stay the same
5. French Open - Countdown: Borg's view on RG
6. Roland Garros: a venue open all year long. Past Winners and Draws
7. Roland Garros Awards Equal Pay
8. Prize Money