The History of the French Open

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As Rafael Nadal gets ready to play in his final French Open, the clay court tournament he's won an astonishing 14 times, many in the tennis world are looking back on his record breaking career on the famed red clay of Roland Garros. But what's the history of those courts?

Here, everything you need to know about the history of the French Open, and why it's called Roland Garros:

The "French Championships" take place for the first time in 1891.

The first iteration of the tournament was called simply the Championnat de France, or the French Championships, and was only open to tennis players who belonged to French clubs. H. Briggs, a British tennis player living in Paris, won the inaugural men's singles tournament, which took place over one day at the l'Ile de Puteaux courts. In 1897, a women's singles tournament took place, with Adine Mason taking home the trophy.

In 1928, the tournament moves to outdoor red clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros.

In 1927, French tennis players Jacques Brugnon, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, and René Lacoste—nicknamed the Four Musketeers—won the Davis Cup. But they soon realized they needed a venue to defend their title. At the time, per RolandGarros.com, two preeminent French tennis clubs—the Stade Français and the Racing Club—alternated hosting the French Championships, but they were too small to host the Davis Cup. So the presidents of those clubs, Emile Lesieur (of Stade Français) and Pierre Gillou (of Racing), both applied for a new plot of land with their eyes on expanding.

Lesieur won the bid, but Gillou suggests they merge forces. Leiseur agreed, on one condition: the stadium would bear the name of a Stade Français member and friend of his, Roland Garros. Garros who an aviation pioneer flew the first solo, non-stop flight across the Mediterranean Sea and was killed during combat in World War I. Garros was more of a rugby player than a tennis player, but the name stuck—and now, the tournament is often referred to as simply "Roland-Garros."

During World War II, the French Open was officially canceled.

From 1939 to 1940, the French government set up an interment camp on the grounds of Roland-Garros. Arthur Koestler, who wrote about his wartime experiences in Darkness at Noon, was among those imprisoned there. "At Roland Garros, we called ourselves the cave dwellers, about 600 of us who lived beneath the stairways of the stadium. We slept on straw—wet straw because the place leaked. We were so crammed in, we felt like sardines."

Koestler continued, "Few of us knew anything about tennis, but when we were allowed to take our walk in the stadium, we could see the names Borotra and Brugnon on the scoreboard. We would make jokes about mixed doubles. Indeed, compared to our experiences in the past and the future, Roland Garros was almost an amusement park."

Starting in 1941, the Vichy government did hold a tournament at Roland-Garros, but for French players only, called the "Tournoi de France." Per Tennis.com, "Because it happened during the occupation, though, the results aren't recognized as part of the history of Roland Garros, and the winners aren’t included in the honor roll of major champions. (This stands in contrast to the French Championships that were held from 1891 to 1924; those were also limited to players from France, but the winners are considered Grand Slam champs.)"

The French Open returns in 1946.

The official tournament returned after the liberation of Paris and the end of World War II. "The first big tournaments post-war were played in conditions that one cannot imagine," French tennis player Bernard Destremau wrote in his memoir, The Fifth Set. "We struggled to find clothes to wear, and to get enough to eat, and there were times when we had to make do with some outlandish outfits. Most of the players were still undernourished and underweight. Some of them were almost passing out by the end of their matches." That year, Marcel Bernard, a French player, won the men's tournament, and Margaret Osborne duPont, won the women's tournament.

In 1968, the French Open becomes the first Grand Slam tournament.

Roland Garros became the first Grand Slam tournament to join the "Open" era—allowing professional players to compete with amateurs. Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian Open all followed. The first winners of the Open era were Nancy Richard of the U.S. and Ken Rosewall of Australia.

During the Open Era, Chris Evert has won the most singles titles at Roland Garros—she triumphed seven times, beginning in 1974.

It would take decades before the French Open started awarding equal pay. In 2007, for the first time, the winner of the men's and women's tournaments took home the same prize money. "Roland Garros has always held a special place in my heart, and today's decision to award equal prize money to all women players is one that is worthy of a sporting event witnessed by millions of women and girls every year," Evert said at the time. "I applaud Roland Garros for taking this decision, and for a making a reality a dream that women players have fought for since the founding of the WTA Tour."

Rafael Nadal's French Open dominance begins in 2005.

There's no player more clearly linked to the modern French Open than Rafael Nadal of Spain, who has won the tournament 14 times. His first victory came in 2005 when he was just 19 years old; he most recently won in 2022, defeating Casper Ruud in straight sets.

While there's still a question if he will play the upcoming tournament, Nadal has said he does hope to play in the Paris Olympics this summer—the Olympic tennis tournament will take place at Roland-Garros, and his Spanish countryman Carlos Alcaraz has said he wants to play doubles with Nadal. "It would be a dream," Alcaraz said. "Not only to win a medal at singles or doubles, but just to live the experience of a doubles with your idol would be a memory that I would keep with special affection."

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