The international tennis internationals perform the century of life on May 28, 2025. The prestigious tournament, which had existed since the end of the nineteenth century, became in that international year and was played at the Stade Francais, in the Parc de Saint-Cloud, but at the time it was not yet called Roland Garros. The title came with the new stadium when that name was imposed by the Stade Francais, willing to sell the three hectares of land to the Federation near the Porte d’Autheuil to build a new plant, but to the condition that it was dedicated to Roland Garros. To win that first edition were in the men’s field René Lacoste, who was a great tennis player, long before becoming the fabric crocodile symbol of the main current sponsor of the tournament, and in the female Suzanne Lenger, the first diva of tennis.
Who was Roland Garros
In spite of the uncertainties still present after a century, Roland Garros, let’s face it once and for all, pronounces “Roland Garros” not French but to the Spanish: with the accent on the “A” and keeping the final “S”, because Roland Garros was an aviator of Spanish origin, a pioneer of French aviationborn on 6 October 1888 in Saint Denis de la Reunion (in the Indian Ocean) and died in an air fight in Saint Morel on the Ardenne on 5 October 1918, during the Second World War, famous for the first transport of the Mediterranean in 1913. Contrary to what one might think was not a sporting manager and not even a tennis player of Vaglia, but a partner of the Social Tennis of the old Stade Francais of St. Cloud.
The year before, René Lacoste, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and Jean Borotra had snatched the Davis Cup from the United States, earning the honorific nickname of “Four Muschettieri”, in homage to one of the luckiest novels by Alexandre Dumasand had earned the right to a stadium at the height of their triumphs destined to bring French tennis to the top of the world for a decade. For this reason, the cup delivered to the Roland Garros winner is nicknamed Cup of Moschettieri.
A field for the four musketeers
The year before, René Lacoste, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and Jean Borotra had snatched the Davis Cup from the United States, earning the honorific nickname of “Four Muschettieri”, in homage to one of the luckiest novels by Alexandre Dumasand had earned the right to a stadium at the height of their triumphs destined to bring French tennis to the top of the world for a decade. For this reason, the cup delivered to the Roland Garros winner is nicknamed Cup of Moschettieri.
The year before, René Lacoste, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and Jean Borotra had snatched the Davis Cup from the United States, earning the honorific nickname of “Four Muschettieri”, in homage to one of the luckiest novels by Alexandre Dumasand had earned the right to a stadium at the height of their triumphs destined to bring French tennis to the top of the world for a decade. For this reason, the cup delivered to the Roland Garros winner is nicknamed Cup of Moschettieri.
Who is Philippe Chatrier
The central field on which the best in the world still play, is underproof in Philippe Chatrier, rare for a sports manager, usually the fields have the name of great champions. But Chatrier is considered The man who has modernized French tennis by beating himself for opening to professionals, while until 1967 Roland Garros as most international tournaments were reserved for amateurs. In 1968 the tournament became open, that is, open to professionals. The tennis had been Olympic sport from the first modern edition of the games, Athens 1986, in Paris 1924, came out of it the following year. The reason is controversial: those who say a ostracism of the fearful British that the games every four years darkened their flagship of the Wimbledon tournament, who believes that he has weighed a story of brands and sponsorships for which we do not intend to be on the brand of the balls.
In the eighties of the twentieth century Chatrier worked hard to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of which he would become a member in 1988, to read down tennis As a demonstration sport at the Los Angeles games in 1984 and as a sporting sport in all respects after 64 years of exile in Seoul in 1988. In Paris 2024 the games were rewarded by the tears of Novak Djokovic, the most winning professional tennis player in history, ready to move for Olympic gold as for no other trophy. The second most important field is named after Suzanne Lenger, nicknamed the “Divine”.
Red land and “Terraioli”
Roland Garros, which hosts only the international tennis, has made the exception only for the 2024 Olympic tournament. It has always been the only tournament between four of the Grand Slam to play in the batting, Clay in English, familiarly red land, for the clay component. For a long time it was one of the most popular surfaces to play tennis about. Slow of the other surfaces and more irregular than the synthetics that have spread in more recent periods, the red earth has long been a specialist ground, the land of conquest of Italians, French, Spanish and Argentine.
In the transition phase in which the synthetic surfaces were increasingly affirmed, but the earth remained widespread, Between the seventies and nineties of the twentieth century, it became fertile ground for specialists, named Spanish and Argentine above all, but also others, a little contemptuously “terraioli” (specialists of the red earth), or “arthrals” (copyright Gianni Clerici) for a regularity made of balls to which an exaggerated rotation of the sotto in su (top spin) was impresseda type of game for which the games could last indefinitely, but based more on the ability not to make mistakes than on spectacularity, especially since Roland Garros until 2022 remained the last tournament not to have the tie break in the fifth set, to finally close the matches.
The Kingdom of Nadal
The distinction between Terraioli and the others has felt as well as in the international tennis circuit they spread, becoming predominant, the concrete fields and hard surfaces, more regular, easier to maintain, and therefore more suitable for growing new talents everywhere in the world. Specialization on earth has now failed, no tennis player today could afford it by remaining at the top. This did not prevent the Spaniard Rafael Nadal from winning everywhere and together becoming, with his 14 titles of singular, on the land of Roland Garros, the only and undisputed French sovereign after the fall of Luigi Filippo last king of France. So much so as to have the Spanish honor to be part of the relay of the last Tedofori of the Paris 2024 games. The centenary edition has made homage to him with a dedicated celebration: the imprint of his shoe is now one on a plaque on the central field.
