The French Open begins in late May and continues for two weeks. The French Open is the premier clay court championship in the world and the only Grand Slam tournament currently held on this surface.
Until , the French Open was the only major tournament not played on grass. Between the seven rounds needed for a championship, the clay surface characteristics slower pace, higher bounce , and the best-of-five-set men's singles matches, the French Open is widely regarded as the most physically demanding tournament in tennis.
Officially named in French Internationaux de France de Tennis "French Internationals of Tennis" in English , [ 8 ] [ 9 ] the tournament uses the name Roland-Garros [ d ] in all languages, [ 11 ] and it is usually called the French Open in English. In , the Championnat de France , which is commonly referred to in English as the French Championships, began. This was only open to tennis players who were members of French clubs.
The first winner was H. In the final, he defeated P. Baigneres in straight sets. The mixed doubles event was added in and the women's doubles in In the period of —, no tournament was organized due to World War I. This tournament was played until , using four venues:.
In , the French Championships became open to all amateurs internationally and was designated a major championship by the International Lawn Tennis Federation. In the Croix-Catelan of the Racing Club de France hosted the event in Paris, the site of the previous French club members only tournament, also on clay.
