Venus Williams at the French Open © Creative Commons / Dionetian

 

Tennis first became popular in France at the end of the 19th century. The first national men's competition was held in 1891 with the ladies' following a few year later in 1897. It welcomed its first international players in 1925. Since then, the French Open or Roland Garros Tournament (named after a French engineer and fighter pilot shot down during WWI) has developed into a major tennis event. It is one of the four tournaments that make up the Grand Slam championships (with the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open); the most important championships in the tennis calendar. It is famous for its red clay courts, which many of the world's top players struggle to conquer. The championship takes place just a few weeks before Wimbledon in England and generates a lot of excitement within the game. 2006 saw the innovation of equal prize money for both men and women.

Times
Matches start at 0900, with play continuing until dusk.