French Open Tennis – The Grandest Of The Grand Slams
The French Open tennis tournament, held in Paris every May, is perhaps the most exciting tennis grand slam, even among other tournaments like the US Open, Wimbledon, and the Australian Open. We like that it's still played on red clay courts and that we get to watch the sport's top players skid across the surface, creating clouds of red dust. No surprise, the French Open is the number one clay court tennis tournament in the world.
Because of the slow playing surface, and the five-set men's singles matches without a tiebreak in the final set, the event is also widely considered to be most physically demanding tennis tournament.
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History of the French Open
The French are crazy about tennis. Throughout France tennis clubs are found in every village and town. The first French national tournament was played in 1891 and was open to all players who were members of any tennis club.
In 1968, the French Championships became the the first Grand Slam tournament to allow amateurs and professionals to compete, thereby creating the first open tournament. The red clay at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris slows the ball down, producing a high bounce. It's this distinct characteristic that takes away the advantages of big servers and supersize volleyers.
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A dinner cruise is one of the easiest ways to see Paris lit up at night without racing across town. This 2.5-hour cruise serves classic French cuisine on an all-glass boat, so the views stay with you as the landmarks slide by.
Tickets to French Open Tennis
If you want to have any hope of seeing some matches live, you should strive to buy tickets well in advance, especially to get the good seats or to see the later stages of play. Tickets go on sale about February 15, but you can sometimes find them available at online resellers right up until the tournament. Here's the link to the Roland-Garros official ticketing site. Good luck!
A Champagne Day Trip From Paris
Spend a day in Champagne visiting historic houses and smaller producers, walking through vineyard villages, and tasting the wines that made the region famous. It's an easy way to see another side of France beyond Paris.
Information
- French Open Website…
- Starts the last week of May
- Played at Roland-Garros, south side of Bois de Boulogne
- Metro Line 9, station Michel-Ange Auteuil or Michel-Ange Molitor
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