Stade Roland Garros
Encyclopedia
Le Stade de Roland Garros ("Roland Garros Stadium") is a tennis venue located in Paris
, France
. It hosts the French Open tennis tournament (known as the Roland Garros Tournament within France), a Grand Slam
event played annually in May and June. The facility was constructed in 1928 to host France's first defense of the Davis Cup. It is named for Roland Garros, a pioneer aviator (completed the first solo flight across the Mediterranean Sea), engineer (inventor of the first forward-firing aircraft machine gun), and World War I
hero (the first pilot to shoot down five enemy aircraft, and to be called an "ace" for doing so), who was killed in aerial combat in 1918.
The 21-acre (8.5-hectare) complex contains twenty courts, including three large-capacity stadiums; Les Jardins de Roland-Garros, a large restaurant and bar complex; Le Village, the press and VIP area; France's National Training Centre (CNE); and the Tenniseum
, a bilingual, multimedia museum of the history of tennis.
The surface was a state-of-the art solution, in 1928, to the biggest problem with natural clay courts: poor drainage. At the time it was not unusual for clay surfaces to be unplayable for two to three days after even short periods of precipitation. The limestone/crushed brick combination, originally developed in Britain, played and looked similar to clay without clay's drainage issues, thus rendering natural clay obsolete as a tennis court surface. Since then a multitude of other "fast-dry" and synthetic clay surfaces have been developed. Courts surfaced with these materials play much like natural clay surfaces and are collectively classified as "clay courts", despite the fact that few if any true clay courts have been built for almost a century. The diversity in composition of various "clay" surfaces around the world explains the extraordinary variability in their playing characteristics.
“All clay courts are different,” Venus Williams
has said. “None play the same. [Roland Garros] plays the best.”
Court Philippe Chatrier
was built in 1928 as Roland Garros's centerpiece and remains its principal venue, seating 14,840 spectators (reduced from 15,166 in 2010 to accommodate new press boxes). The stadium was known simply as "Court Central" until 1998, when it was renamed for the long-time president of the Fédération Française de Tennis
(FFT) who helped restore tennis as a Summer Olympics sport in 1988. The four main spectator grandstands are named for les Quatre Mousquetaires ("Four Musketeers") – Jacques "Toto" Brugnon
, Jean Borotra
(the "Bouncing Basque"), Henri Cochet
(the "Magician"), and René Lacoste
(the "Crocodile") – who dominated men's tennis in the 1920s and '30s.
When France won the Davis Cup
in 1927, due largely to the Musketeers' efforts, Roland Garros was constructed as a venue for its successful defense the following year. France retained the Cup until 1933, again largely because of the Musketeers. A monument to France's six Cup championships stands at the center of Place des Mousquetaires, the circular courtyard between Court Chatrier and Court 1. As a further tribute, the trophy awarded each year to the French Open men's singles champion is known as La Coupe des Mousquetaires.
Originally designated "Court A", Court Suzanne Lenglen
, the secondary stadium with a capacity of 10,068 spectators, was built in 1994. Its namesake, an international celebrity and the first true star of women's tennis, won 31 major tournaments, including six French Open titles and six Wimbledon championships, between 1914 and 1926. Known as La Divine ("Divine One") and La Grand Dame ("Great Lady") of French tennis, she also won two Olympic gold medals in Antwerp in 1920. A bronze bas relief of Lenglen by the Italian sculptor Vito Tongiani stands over the east tunnel-entrance to the stadium. The trophy awarded each year to the French Open women's singles champion is named La Coupe Suzanne Lenglen in her honor.
The court has an underground irrigation system, the first of its kind, to control moisture levels within its surface.
In 1994 the walkway between Court Chatrier and Court Lenglen was named Allée Marcel Bernard
, in honor of the 1940s-era French champion who died that year.
's 3rd-round victory over Thomas Muster
in 1997, on his way to his first of three Open titles; and Gabriela Sabatini
's defeat – after a 6–1, 5–1 lead and five match points – to Mary Joe Fernandez
in the 1993 quarterfinals. It was also the site of Marat Safin
's famous "dropped pants" match against Felix Mantilla
in 2004.
Permanent exhibits include a display of the French Open perpetual trophies, including La Coupe des Mousquetaires and La Coupe Suzanne Lenglen; a narrative and photographic history of Roland Garros; displays documenting the evolution of tennis attire through the years; a comprehensive collection of tennis racquets dating back to the mid-19th century; and a large exhibition of tennis-related photographs and paintings. The media library houses a diverse collection of documents, posters, books, and magazines, as well as a database of tennis information, statistics, trivia, and match summaries of all French Open tournament matches since 1928. The bilingual (French/English) multimedia center contains over 4,000 hours of digitized video including documentaries, interviews with many of the sport's legendary players, and film archives dating from 1897 to the present. Tours are conducted daily. (Two per day, at 11:00am and 3:00pm, are in English.) During the French Open the normal entry fee is waived for tournament ticket-holders.
) to design a significant expansion of Roland Garros. On the current property, the proposal calls for the addition of lights and a roof over Court Philippe Chatrier. At the nearby Georges Hébert municipal recreation area, east of Roland Garros at Porte d'Auteuil, a fourth stadium will be built with a retractable roof and 14,600 seating capacity, along with two smaller courts with seating for 1,500 and 750. Additional space may be available at Stade Jean Bouin, where Stade Francais rugby club played its home games until the stadium was demolished in 2009.
In 2010, faced with opposition to the proposed expansion from factions within the Paris City Council, the FFT announced it was considering an alternate plan to move the French Open to a completely new 55-court venue outside of Paris city limits. Three sites reportedly being considered were Marne-le-Vallée (site of the Euro Disney resort), the northern Paris suburb of Gonesse
, and a vacant military base near Versailles
. Amid charges of bluffing and brinkmanship
, a spokesman explained that Roland Garros is less than half the size of other Grand Slam venues, leaving the FFT with only two viable options: expansion of the existing facility or relocation of the event.
In February 2011 the FFT voted to keep the French Open at the Roland Garros venue, citing the prohibitive expense ($630 million to $1 billion) of building from scratch at Versailles, Gonesse, or Marne-le-Vallée, versus a projected $370 million to expand the existing facility. Local residents, wildlife enthusiasts and municipal authorities continue to voice opposition to the expansion plan, which would increase the Roland Garros grounds from 21 acres (8.5 hectares) to about 33.8 acres (13.5 hectares).
in Paris's 16th arrondissement
. The triangular property is bounded by Avenue Porte d'Auteuil on the north and Boulevard d'Auteuil on the south. The eastern boundary is Avenue Gordon Bennett
.
stations are Porte d'Auteuil
and Michel-Ange–Molitor.
Rail: Lines 9 and 10.
Bus: Routes 22, 32, 52, 62, 72, 123, 241 and PC1.
A special Roland Garros taxi stand operates in May and June during the French Open on the southeast corner of the venue grounds, at the corner of Robert Schuman Avenue and Auteuil Boulevard.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It hosts the French Open tennis tournament (known as the Roland Garros Tournament within France), a Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
event played annually in May and June. The facility was constructed in 1928 to host France's first defense of the Davis Cup. It is named for Roland Garros, a pioneer aviator (completed the first solo flight across the Mediterranean Sea), engineer (inventor of the first forward-firing aircraft machine gun), and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
hero (the first pilot to shoot down five enemy aircraft, and to be called an "ace" for doing so), who was killed in aerial combat in 1918.
The 21-acre (8.5-hectare) complex contains twenty courts, including three large-capacity stadiums; Les Jardins de Roland-Garros, a large restaurant and bar complex; Le Village, the press and VIP area; France's National Training Centre (CNE); and the Tenniseum
Tenniseum
The Tenniseum, also known as the Musée du Tennis or the Musée de Roland-Garros, is a tennis museum located in the Stade Roland Garros in the 16th arrondissement at 2, avenue Gordon-Bennett, Paris, France...
, a bilingual, multimedia museum of the history of tennis.
Playing surface
While the Roland Garros surface is invariably characterized as "red clay", the courts are in fact surfaced with white limestone frosted with a few millimeters of powdered red brick dust. Beneath the 3-inch-thick layer of porous limestone is 6 inches of volcanic rock, followed by a 3 foot (0.9144 m) layer of sand, all of which rests on a slab of concrete. Crushed brick is pressed onto the limestone surface with rollers, then drenched in water. The process is repeated several times until a thin, compact layer coats each court. The crushed brick is deep enough to allow footprints and ball marks, but shallow enough to avoid making the court spongy or slippery. In tournament situations workers smooth the surface before matches and between sets by dragging rectangular lengths of chain-link across it. The red brick dust is replenished as needed (daily during major tournaments).The surface was a state-of-the art solution, in 1928, to the biggest problem with natural clay courts: poor drainage. At the time it was not unusual for clay surfaces to be unplayable for two to three days after even short periods of precipitation. The limestone/crushed brick combination, originally developed in Britain, played and looked similar to clay without clay's drainage issues, thus rendering natural clay obsolete as a tennis court surface. Since then a multitude of other "fast-dry" and synthetic clay surfaces have been developed. Courts surfaced with these materials play much like natural clay surfaces and are collectively classified as "clay courts", despite the fact that few if any true clay courts have been built for almost a century. The diversity in composition of various "clay" surfaces around the world explains the extraordinary variability in their playing characteristics.
“All clay courts are different,” Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
has said. “None play the same. [Roland Garros] plays the best.”
Court Philippe Chatrier
Philippe Chatrier
Philippe Chatrier was a French tennis player. After his playing career ended, he became a journalist, and was then involved in sports administration...
was built in 1928 as Roland Garros's centerpiece and remains its principal venue, seating 14,840 spectators (reduced from 15,166 in 2010 to accommodate new press boxes). The stadium was known simply as "Court Central" until 1998, when it was renamed for the long-time president of the Fédération Française de Tennis
Fédération Française de Tennis
The Fédération Française de Tennis , also known as the FFT is an organisation set up in 1920 that takes charge of the organisation, co-ordination and promotion of tennis in France. It is recognised by the International Tennis Federation and by the French Minister for Sports. Its headquarters are at...
(FFT) who helped restore tennis as a Summer Olympics sport in 1988. The four main spectator grandstands are named for les Quatre Mousquetaires ("Four Musketeers") – Jacques "Toto" Brugnon
Jacques Brugnon
Jacques "Toto" Brugnon was a French tennis player, one of the famous "Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s.He was born in Paris and died in Paris....
, Jean Borotra
Jean Borotra
Jean Robert Borotra was a French champion tennis player. He was one of the famous "Four Musketeers" from his country who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s.-Career:...
(the "Bouncing Basque"), Henri Cochet
Henri Cochet
Henri Jean Cochet was a champion tennis player, one of the famous "Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s....
(the "Magician"), and René Lacoste
René Lacoste
Jean René Lacoste was a French tennis player and businessman. He was nicknamed "the Crocodile" by fans because of his tenacity on the court; he is also known worldwide as the namesake of the Lacoste tennis shirt, which he introduced in 1929.Lacoste was one of The Four Musketeers, French tennis...
(the "Crocodile") – who dominated men's tennis in the 1920s and '30s.
When France won the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
in 1927, due largely to the Musketeers' efforts, Roland Garros was constructed as a venue for its successful defense the following year. France retained the Cup until 1933, again largely because of the Musketeers. A monument to France's six Cup championships stands at the center of Place des Mousquetaires, the circular courtyard between Court Chatrier and Court 1. As a further tribute, the trophy awarded each year to the French Open men's singles champion is known as La Coupe des Mousquetaires.
Court Suzanne Lenglen
Suzanne Lenglen
Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen was a French tennis player who won 31 Championship titles between 1914 and 1926...
, the secondary stadium with a capacity of 10,068 spectators, was built in 1994. Its namesake, an international celebrity and the first true star of women's tennis, won 31 major tournaments, including six French Open titles and six Wimbledon championships, between 1914 and 1926. Known as La Divine ("Divine One") and La Grand Dame ("Great Lady") of French tennis, she also won two Olympic gold medals in Antwerp in 1920. A bronze bas relief of Lenglen by the Italian sculptor Vito Tongiani stands over the east tunnel-entrance to the stadium. The trophy awarded each year to the French Open women's singles champion is named La Coupe Suzanne Lenglen in her honor.
The court has an underground irrigation system, the first of its kind, to control moisture levels within its surface.
In 1994 the walkway between Court Chatrier and Court Lenglen was named Allée Marcel Bernard
Marcel Bernard
Marcel Bernard was a former French male tennis player. He is best remembered for having won the French Championships in 1946. He defeated Jaroslav Drobný in the finals by the score of 3-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.In the same French Open , Bernard also won the Men's Doubles with Yvon Petra...
, in honor of the 1940s-era French champion who died that year.
Court 1
Nicknamed the "Bullring" because of its circular shape, Court 1 is the facility's tertiary venue. Its architect, Jean Lovera, a former French junior champion, designed the 3,800-seat structure as a deliberate contrast to the adjacent, exceedingly geometric Court Philippe Chatrier. Built in 1980, the Bullring is a favorite among serious tennis fans because of its relatively small size and feeling of close proximity to the action. An unusual design feature is its press seating in the first row at court level behind the south baseline. Court 1 has been the scene of some stunning French Open upsets, such as unseeded Gustavo KuertenGustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001, and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000...
's 3rd-round victory over Thomas Muster
Thomas Muster
Thomas Muster is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Austria. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, Muster won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was known as "The King of Clay." In addition, he won eight Masters 1000 series titles, placing him sixth on the all-time list...
in 1997, on his way to his first of three Open titles; and Gabriela Sabatini
Gabriela Sabatini
Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini is a former professional Argentine tennis player. She was one of the leading players on the women's circuit in the late-1980s and early-1990s...
's defeat – after a 6–1, 5–1 lead and five match points – to Mary Joe Fernandez
Mary Joe Fernández
Mary Joe Fernández Godsick is an American former professional tennis player...
in the 1993 quarterfinals. It was also the site of Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
's famous "dropped pants" match against Felix Mantilla
Félix Mantilla Botella
Félix Mantilla Botella is a former Spanish professional tennis player, born in Barcelona. In common with many of his fellow countrymen, Mantilla's best surface is clay. While not as successful away from the clay, Mantilla also produced good hardcourt results...
in 2004.
Tenniseum
Known officially as the Museum of the French Federation of Tennis, the Tenniseum was designed by the French architect Bruno Moinard and opened in May, 2003. It is housed in a former groundsman's cottage, and comprises a multimedia center, media library, and permanent and temporary exhibits dedicated to the history of tennis in general, and the French Open in particular.Permanent exhibits include a display of the French Open perpetual trophies, including La Coupe des Mousquetaires and La Coupe Suzanne Lenglen; a narrative and photographic history of Roland Garros; displays documenting the evolution of tennis attire through the years; a comprehensive collection of tennis racquets dating back to the mid-19th century; and a large exhibition of tennis-related photographs and paintings. The media library houses a diverse collection of documents, posters, books, and magazines, as well as a database of tennis information, statistics, trivia, and match summaries of all French Open tournament matches since 1928. The bilingual (French/English) multimedia center contains over 4,000 hours of digitized video including documentaries, interviews with many of the sport's legendary players, and film archives dating from 1897 to the present. Tours are conducted daily. (Two per day, at 11:00am and 3:00pm, are in English.) During the French Open the normal entry fee is waived for tournament ticket-holders.
Expansion or relocation
In 2009 the FFT announced that it had commissioned the French architect Marc Mimram (designer of the Passerelle des Deux Rives footbridge across the Rhine River in StrasbourgStrasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
) to design a significant expansion of Roland Garros. On the current property, the proposal calls for the addition of lights and a roof over Court Philippe Chatrier. At the nearby Georges Hébert municipal recreation area, east of Roland Garros at Porte d'Auteuil, a fourth stadium will be built with a retractable roof and 14,600 seating capacity, along with two smaller courts with seating for 1,500 and 750. Additional space may be available at Stade Jean Bouin, where Stade Francais rugby club played its home games until the stadium was demolished in 2009.
In 2010, faced with opposition to the proposed expansion from factions within the Paris City Council, the FFT announced it was considering an alternate plan to move the French Open to a completely new 55-court venue outside of Paris city limits. Three sites reportedly being considered were Marne-le-Vallée (site of the Euro Disney resort), the northern Paris suburb of Gonesse
Gonesse
Gonesse is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.The commune lies immediately north of Le Bourget Airport and southwest of Charles de Gaulle International Airport.-History:...
, and a vacant military base near Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
. Amid charges of bluffing and brinkmanship
Brinkmanship
Brinkmanship is the practice of pushing dangerous events to the verge of disaster in order to achieve the most advantageous outcome...
, a spokesman explained that Roland Garros is less than half the size of other Grand Slam venues, leaving the FFT with only two viable options: expansion of the existing facility or relocation of the event.
In February 2011 the FFT voted to keep the French Open at the Roland Garros venue, citing the prohibitive expense ($630 million to $1 billion) of building from scratch at Versailles, Gonesse, or Marne-le-Vallée, versus a projected $370 million to expand the existing facility. Local residents, wildlife enthusiasts and municipal authorities continue to voice opposition to the expansion plan, which would increase the Roland Garros grounds from 21 acres (8.5 hectares) to about 33.8 acres (13.5 hectares).
Location
Roland Garros is located at the southern boundary of the Bois de BoulogneBois de Boulogne
The Bois de Boulogne is a park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine...
in Paris's 16th arrondissement
Arrondissements of Paris
The city of Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements municipaux administrative districts, more simply referred to as arrondissements . These are not to be confused with departmental arrondissements, which subdivide the 101 French départements...
. The triangular property is bounded by Avenue Porte d'Auteuil on the north and Boulevard d'Auteuil on the south. The eastern boundary is Avenue Gordon Bennett
James Gordon Bennett, Jr.
James Gordon Bennett, Jr. was publisher of the New York Herald, founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett, Sr., who emigrated from Scotland. He was generally known as Gordon Bennett to distinguish him from his father....
.
Transportation
The closest MétroParis Métro
The Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...
stations are Porte d'Auteuil
Porte d'Auteuil (Paris Metro)
Porte d'Auteuil is a métro station serving Line 10 . It is situated in the 16th arrondissement.- History :The station opened on 30 September 1913 as part of the extension of line 8 from Beaugrenelle...
and Michel-Ange–Molitor.
Rail: Lines 9 and 10.
Bus: Routes 22, 32, 52, 62, 72, 123, 241 and PC1.
A special Roland Garros taxi stand operates in May and June during the French Open on the southeast corner of the venue grounds, at the corner of Robert Schuman Avenue and Auteuil Boulevard.