French Open Tennis

The French Open which was named after the eminent French aviator Roland Garros has proved out to be one of the major tennis tournament which is held for two weeks between late May and early June at famous courts in France, at the Stade Roland Garros and in Paris. It is the leading tournament played on clay court and second of the four annual Grand Slam among the other three which are Australian Open, US open and Wimbledon.

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A French national tournament was initiated in 1891 and only tennis players were welcomed, who were members of French Clubs. The first ever women tournament was held in 1895. Only the French club members played till 1924 and was held in four countries. The Racing Club de France played on clay. For the year 1909, it was played in Bordeaux on clay at the Société Athlétique de la Villa Primrose. Tennis Club de Paris, played on clay.

World Hard Court Championships held between 1912 to 1914 and in 1920, 1921 and 1923 at Brussels, Belgium was pioneer to French Open since it was on an international level. In the year 1925, the French Championships opened to amateur players all over the world. This tournament was held in 1925 and 1927 at the Stade Français situated in Saint-Cloud, on clay. Between 1946 and 1947 French Championships made it to third Grand Slam event in that year, being held after Wimbledon. The French Championships allowed amateurs and professionals to compete in 1986 and became the first Grand Slam tournament.

Since 1981, new prizes and awards have been presented. Some of them are the Prix Citron for the player with the great character and personality the Prix Orange for the player showing the best sportsmanship and obliging attitude with the press, and the Prix Bourgeon for the tennis player exposure of the year. Since 2006 this tournament is held on Sunday with twelve singles played on three main courts. The profits collected are given in charity. 2007 was the year when it was decided that the prize money will be distributed equally among the men and women players for all the rounds.

Clay courts reduce the speed of the ball and give a high bounce as compared to grass courts or hard courts. Thus the advantage lies with clay court and is used for big serves and makes it hard for players to dominate the surface. Players who have won multiple Grand Slam are: John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Venus Williams, Stefan Edberg, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and Maria Sharapova. Every year in summer French Open is held in the French capital. The tournament lasts for two weeks and is the second of the Gland Slam.The event has an extensive and impressive history which started in 1891. As expected every year, fans arrive at the capital for French open tennis and eventually all hotels in Paris get booked up. It becomes necessary to make a reservation well in advance in order to avoid the stay too far away from the court.

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