It is highly unimaginable that people will not have heard of the French Open tennis championship, because it is a competition which is a regular topic of conversation. In French the name of the competition is ‘Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros’ or ‘Tournoi de Roland Garros’. This tournament, which lasts for roughly a fortnight is held in Paris at the Roland Garros Stadium, from which it got its name.
It is one of the most advertised and broadcast sports events throughout the entire world and lots of VIPs go to it. The attendees are fanatics who wait with baited breath on every stroke, especially when there is a tight struggle between two players, doing their best to win. Even TV viewers actually get a feeling of being there live.
The French Open tennis championship is the second on the annual schedule of the Grand Slam tournaments and its history goes back to the year of 1891 when it became an international competition. At that time it was named the ‘International Championship of Tennis of France’ or ‘Championat de France International de Tennis’ in French.
Initially, only players that were registered or licensed in France were permitted to participate in this competition, but things took a different turn in 1925, when the French open tennis tournament finally became accessible to international players. Until 1912, the court the players used was made of crushed red brick dust. Actually the crushed brick was formed into a sort of red clay that was spread over the ground, which, until then, would have been a green lawn.
The popularity of the French Open tennis tournament held at Roland Garros dates back to a competition between the Philadelphia Four (Rene Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Jacques Brugnon) who won the Davis Cup in 1927. It triggered the desire in the French to defend their cup in future competitions. This new tournament designed to bring back home the cup was held on a stadium named after the World War I pilot Roland Garros and since then the name has stuck.
The term ‘open’ became has been used from 1968, when the tournament allowed both amateurs and professionals alike who wanted to test their skills at tennis. Since then the French Open tennis tournament has also brought some novelties in terms of prizes.
Apart from the usual winners’ prizes, they also give prizes called ‘Prix Orange’ for the most correct and press-friendly player, ‘Prix Citron’ for the player with the strongest personality and ‘Prix Burgeon’ for the one the best new-comer of the tennis year.
If you are a beginner tennis player or are interested in the general psychology of tennis, please go to our website entitled Tennis Tips for Beginners
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