ChristineOCurious about France’s most famous tennis event? We’re going to take a closer look at its history by seeing what all the different Roland-Garros names can tell us.
Three Roland-Garros names
The three Roland-Garros names goes by actually tells us a lot about the tournament. Let’s tackle the first one first…
Roland-Garros
Right, so the first Roland-Garros name we’re going to tackle is obvious. But the thing you might not realise is that it’s not just the name of the event. It’s actually the name of the stadium where the event is held. The Stade Roland-Garros is in Paris. It’s France’s most famous tennis centre and has seen a hell of a lot of action since it opened in 1928.
And what’s with the name? Well, it’s named after an aviation pioneer. As well as being among the first in France to fly before the war, he also took part in World War One. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive the fighting. He died just before his 30th birthday. However, he’ll always be immortalised in Roland-Garros history.
International de France de Tennis
Now this alternative Roland-Garros name tells us a whole lot. First up, it tells us the sport. Tennis. No duh. You don’t have to be a scholar of Roland-Garros history to figure that one out. But it also signifies that it’s an international event. You might be like, well yeah, tennis events always are international.
But that’s actually not the case. One of the predecessors of the Roland-Garros started in 1891. The Championnat de France was famously open only to players from French clubs. Another notable difference was that it was played in lots of different venues, it didn’t have a spiritual home like the current Roland-Garros does.
But if we’re looking for an international ancestor, some tennis historians say it has closer links to the World Hard Court Championships. Held mostly in Paris, it ran for almost a decade, starting in 1912. As well as being open to international players, like the Roland-Garros, it also has court type in common. Both were, and are, firmly clay court games.
French Open
Okay, now the next name we’re going to explore reveals a hell of a lot. The French Open denotes the Roland-Garros is a Grand Slam tournament, like the US Open, the Australian Open and Wimbledon. But there’s something extra special about the French games.
The Roland-Garros was the first ever Grand Slam tennis tournament. You read that right. It all kicked off in 1968. And that’s just another reason why we love Roland-Garros history.
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