Roland-Garros 2026: where does the Paris tennis tournament come from? 5 facts and anecdotes

What could be more iconic than the clay courts at Roland-Garros? These tennis courts have seen careers made and lost, and have welcomed the sport's greatest champions. This international tournament takes place every year between the last week of May and the first week of June. 15 days of intense competition to thrill sports fans.

You may be following this new edition assiduously, hoping to see Les Bleus triumph, or supporting the competition favourites. These intense weeks are fascinating, as are the little and big stories that have made Roland-Garros famous. How would you like to learn more about this world-famous competition?

The Roland-Garros tournament, also known as theFrench Open, was founded in 1925. It has been held in Paris since 1928, at the Roland-Garros stadium in the 16th arrondissement.

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Where does the competition's name come from?

It is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments - also comprising the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. The French competition takes its name fromFrench aviator Roland Garros, who died in aerial combat in 1918, during the First World War. The pilot was a fellow HEC graduate ofEmile Lesieur, president of Stade français. To pay tribute to his friend, Emile Lesieur named the newly-built stadium in his honor when it was inaugurated in 1928.

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Roland-Garros Stadium

The stadium was built between 1927 and 1928. It was created to host the final of the Davis Cup, which at the time was largely dominated by the French tennis team. They were known as the Four Musketeers: Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and René Lacoste monopolized the podiums between 1926 and 1932. The Roland-Garros stadium was gradually extended and modernized, and today boasts 17 courts, with capacity for up to 15,000 spectators on a single court.

The museum and its iconic trophies

The stadium is also home to the Tennis Museum. Created in 2003, this unusual museum houses some 14,000 collectors' items and documents, recounting the history of the Roland-Garros stadium, as well as that of the French sport. You can admire the different outfits worn by athletes through the ages, discover the evolution of rackets and sports equipment, and above all contemplate the various cups awarded to the tournament winners.

There are five of them, described on the Roland-Garros website:

• The Rafael Cup (the Coupe des Mousquetaires) has crowned the men’s singles champion since 1981 and pays tribute to the four French tennis greats known as the Mousquetaires: Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet, and René Lacoste. The silver vase is adorned with a vine-leaf frieze at the rim and features two swan-neck handles. The trophy sits atop a marble plinth bearing the winners’ names from the very first edition.
  
  
• The Suzanne-Lenglen Cup honors the women’s singles winner since 1979 and is named after one of France’s most iconic champions. Suzanne Lenglen (1899-1938) won Roland-Garros six times. Her modern style, poise, and flair made her an inspirational figure for the Mousquetaires. With only minor details differing, the trophy is a near-replica of a cup once presented to Lenglen by the City of Nice, now housed at the National Museum of Sport.
  
  
• The Jacques-Brugnon Cup is awarded to the men’s doubles champions. A fitting tribute to Mousquetaire Jacques Brugnon (1895-1978), a master of this event who claimed the title five times. Created in 1989, this trophy features inlaid embellishments and a base decorated with relief ornaments known as denticles.
  
  
• The Simonne-Mathieu Cup goes to the winning pair in the women’s doubles. Established in 1990, this round trophy is embellished with two small swan-neck handles and water-leaf mouldings. Simonne Mathieu (1908-1980), a prominent 1930s player and clay-court specialist, appeared in eight Roland-Garros finals in singles (winning in 1938 and 1939) and also secured eight titles in women’s doubles and mixed doubles. In 1940, she joined General de Gaulle in London and ended the war with the rank of captain.
  
  
• Since 1990, the Marcel Bernard Cup has recognized the winning mixed doubles team at the French Open. Oval in shape, the trophy features turned and applied mouldings, an ornate frieze, and two handles. Its plinth is lined with two turned mouldings. This prize was created in homage to Marcel Bernard (1914-1994), famous for his 1946 Roland-Garros triumph. He later served as president of the FFT from 1968 to 1973.

The handsome prize money participants win

In addition to these cups, the most deserving participants receive a handsome bonus, up to 2.2 million euros!

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French Records

Over the years, there have been many award-winning athletes, and the French have no reason to be ashamed of their achievements. Before the Open era, which symbolizes the modern era of tennis, during which professional players are finally allowed to take part in Grand Slam tournaments, the French were racking up all the records: most singles and doubles titles, most consecutive victories, longest match...

For several years now, these rankings and podiums have been monopolized by an international trio in the men's category: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic seem to be indestructible.

The last French players to triumph at Roland-Garros were Yannick Noah in 1983, and Mary Pierce in 2000. Does 2022 hold any surprises in store?