TheFrench Open, also known as Roland-Garros, is an annualtennis tournament held over two weeks in May and June. Established in 1891 and played since 1928 on outdoor redclay courts at theStade Roland Garros in Paris, France,[1] the French Open became aGrand Slam event in 1925. It is one of the four tournaments played each year, the other three being theAustralian Open,Wimbledon, and theUS Open. Organised by theFédération Française de Tennis (FFT), the French Open is the second of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the year to be played.[2] In 1968, it was the first Grand Slam tournament to open to non-amateur players.
Rafael Nadal has won 14 French Open titles which is a record for any player, male or female, in any major tournament. He also holds the record for the most consecutive wins in theOpen Era, with five from2010 to2014.[5]Max Decugis won eightFrench Championships prior to the Open Era.[6]Michael Chang became the youngest player in the Open Era to win the French Open when he took the title in1989 at 17 years, 3 months and 20 days.[7] In contrast,Novak Djokovic is the oldest champion of the Open Era, who won the 2023 French Open at 36 years, twenty days.[8] French players have won the most French Open men's singles titles, with 38 victories, followed by players from Spain (20) and Australia (11). The current champion isCarlos Alcaraz, who beatJannik Sinner in the 2025 final.[9]
Rafael Nadal, who has won an all-time record fourteen French Open titles. Nadal won four consecutive titles on two separate occasions from 2005 to 2008 and 2017–2020, and an open era record of five consecutive titles from 2010 to 2014.
TheFrench Open was established in 1891 and was originally known as the French Championships.[10] The tournament was only open to French players or foreign players who were a member of a French club during the first 34 years of its existence.[11] The first winner of the Championship was the British playerH. Briggs, a member of Club Stade Français which entitled him to compete.[12] Matches were played as the best-of-three sets format until 1902 or 1903, when best-of-five sets was adopted.[citation needed] French players were dominant in the early stages of the tournament, in particularMax Decugis, who won eight titles before the outbreak of theFirst World War.[13]
Between 1924 and 1932 the title was won by a member ofThe Four Musketeers. The championship started to attract the best players after it became an international event in1925, which was won byRené Lacoste. France's victory in the1927 Davis Cup increased interest in the tournament and required a new stadium to be built. Previously the tournament had alternated betweenRacing Club andStade Français at La Faisanderie, before theStade Roland Garros was built in 1928.[14]Henri Cochet won the first tournament at the new venue.[15]
Jack Crawford's victory in1933 was the first time a foreign player had won the tournament since 1891. Following his victory, no French players won the title up until 1940, when the tournament was suspended following the outbreak of theSecond World War.Don Budge's victory in1938 was notable, as he won all of the Grand Slam tournaments during the year.[16] Though the event was suspended in 1940, it was held unofficially under the guise of theTournoi de France.Bernard Destremau won the first two events, whileYvon Petra won three from 1942 to 1945. These results are not recognised by the FFT or other major international organisations and are considered unofficial.[4]Marcel Bernard won the first event after the end of the war in1946; he was the only Frenchman to win the event before the advent of the Open era in1968.[13]
No one player dominated the event during this period. Only five players,Frank Parker,Jaroslav Drobný,Tony Trabert,Nicola Pietrangeli andRoy Emerson, won multiple titles.[13] The tournament became an Open in1968, as professional players were allowed to compete with amateurs, previously only amateurs could compete in the Grand Slam tournaments.[17] The tournament, won by AustralianKen Rosewall, was the first Grand Slam tournament to be played in the Open era.[18]
SwedeBjörn Borg won the majority of the tournaments in the early years of the Open era. He won consecutive titles in1974 and1975, before winning four successive titles from1978 to1981.[19]Yannick Noah became the first Frenchman to win the event since 1946, when he won in1983.[20]Ivan Lendl won his first title in1984, before losing the following year to Wilander in the final and won two consecutive titles in1986 and1987.[19]Michael Chang became the youngest man to win the French Open when he beatStefan Edberg in1989.[21]
Henri Cochet, the most successful French player since the tournament became open in 1925. He won five titles between 1922 and 1932.Björn Borg won six titles from 1974 to 1981.Ivan Lendl won three titles and made two more finals.Mats Wilander won three titles in his career.Gustavo Kuerten won all three of his major trophies at the French Open.Rafael Nadal is the record fourteen-time champion. He holds a 112–4 win–loss record at the event.
Key
† A French club members only tournament called the French Championships. Non-Grand Slam event.[b]
^The Encyclopedia Of Tennis: 100 Years Of Great Players And Events; by Max Robertson and Jack Kramer. 1974 edition, page 375. Source for finalists and scores
^"Lawn Tennis".L'Auto-vélo (in French). 30 June 1913. p. 7 – via Gallica.Max Decugis, pour la sixième fois, a remporté hier ]e Championnat de France (simple), en battant dans la finale G. Gault par 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Le match s'est joué sur un des courts du R.C.F., devant un millier, de spectateurs.
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France (FRA)
Spain (ESP)
Australia (AUS)
United States (USA)
Sweden (SWE)
Czechoslovakia (TCH)[i]
Germany (GER)
Italy (ITA)
Brazil (BRA)
Serbia (SRB)
Great Britain (GBR)
Egypt (EGY)
Argentina (ARG)
Switzerland (SUI)
Hungary (HUN)
Romania (ROU)
Ecuador (ECU)
Austria (AUT)
Russia (RUS)
