Explained: How French Open got the name ‘Roland Garros’

On May 31, 2021

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Hyderabad: The Grand slam tennis tournament Roland Garros 2021, popularly known as French Open began in Paris on May 24th. Roland Garros is one of the premier clay court tennis tournaments in the world.

When other grand slam tournaments, such as the US Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon were named after the respective countries and city, do you wonder why French Open is officially called Roland Garros. Here is the history behind the naming.

Who is Roland Garros?

Roland Garros was the name of a person who was never associated with the tennis game. He was born in 1888. Garros was a pioneering French aviator and a fighter pilot during World War I. In 1913, he became the first person to fly over the Mediterranean. He is also known as the world’s fighter ace. Aero Club of America awarded Garros for his invention of an armoured propeller for the fighter planes. He was martyred in the war in 1918, one day ahead of his 30th birthday.

French Open and Garros

The first French Open tournament was in 1891, much before Garros’ contributions to the war. Initially French players were only allowed to participate in the tournament. In 1925, it became International. Two years later, French tennis players defeated the United States in the Davis Cup, for the first time in history.

As a memorial of this win, France decided to build a tennis stadium and in 1928 the stadium was completed and the authorities decided to name it after their war hero, Roland Garros. Initially the Davis Cup was held in the Roland Garros stadium and later all the French International Championships moved there, including the French Open. Since then, the official name of the tournament has changed to Rolland Garros.

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