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| Roland Garros |
The Jones are visiting the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris. Elena Jones is excited with this visit because she's a professional tennis player and one of her dreams is to arrive to play in this court. Tha family is learning some interesting things about occupational hazards in sports, in this case, in tennis.
The French Open, also called Roland-Garros is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris. The venue is named after the French aviator Roland Garros.
It is the premier clay court tennis championship event in the world and the second of four annual Grand Slam tournaments, the other three being the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
More information: Roland-Garros
The French Open is currently the only Grand Slam event held on clay, and it is the zenith of the spring clay court season. Because of the seven rounds needed for a championship, the slow-playing surface and the best-of-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.
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| The Grandma with René Lacoste & Suzanne Lenglen |
Officially named in French Championnats Internationaux de France de tennis and Tournoi de Roland-Garros, the French International Championships of Tennis or Roland Garros Tournament in English, the tournament is referred to in English as the French Open and alternatively as Roland Garros, which is the designation used by the tournament itself in all languages.
French spelling rules dictate that in the name of a place or event named after a person, the elements of the name are joined together with a hyphen. Therefore, the names of the stadium and the tournament are hyphenated as Roland-Garros.
More information: The Telegraph
In 1891 the Championnat de France, which is commonly referred to in English as the French Championships, began. They were only open to tennis players who were members of French clubs. The first winner was a Briton, H. Briggs, who was a Paris resident. 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. This French club members only tournament was played until 1924, using four different venues during that period:
-Île de Puteaux, in Puteaux, played on sand laid out on a bed of rubble.
-The Racing Club de France, in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, played on clay.
-For one year, 1909, it was played at the Société Athlétique de la Villa Primrose in Bordeaux, on clay.
-Tennis Club de Paris, club opened in 1895, at Auteuil, Paris, played on clay.
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| René Lacoste & the Mousquetaires |
Another tournament, the World Hard Court Championships, is sometimesconsidered the precursor to the French Open as it was open to international competitors. It was held on clay courts at Stade Français in Saint-Cloud from 1912 to 1914, then, after World War I, was contested there again in 1920, 1921 and 1923, with the 1922 tournament held at Brussels, Belgium. Winners of this tournament included world no. 1's such as Tony 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.
More information: BBC
In 1925, the French Championships became open to all amateurs internationally and was designated a major championship by the ILTF. It was held at the Stade Français in Saint-Cloud, site of the previous World Hardcourt Championships, in 1925 and 1927, on clay courts. In 1926 the Racing Club de France hosted the event in Paris, site of the previous French Championship, also on clay.
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| The Grandma watching Fred Perry on court, 1930 |
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. In 1928, the French Internationals were moved there, and the event has been held there ever since.
More information: CCOHS
During World War II the tournament was held from 1941 through 1945 on the same grounds but these editions are not recognized by the French governing body, Fédération Française de Tennis. In 1946 and 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.
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| Elena Jones, Roland-Garros trophy and an official ball |
Since 1981, new prizes have been presented: the Prix Orange, for the player 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.
In 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.
More information: Better Health
In March 2007, it was announced that the event would provide equal prize money for both men and women in all rounds for the first time. In 2010, it was announced that the French Open was considering a move away from Roland Garros as part of a continuing rejuvenation of the tournament. Plans to renovate and expand Roland Garros have put aside any such consideration, and the tournament remains in its long time home.
Tennis just a game, family is forever.
Serena Williams
