Roland-Garros (French Open)

What is Roland-Garros?

Roland-Garros, the French Open, known in French as the Internationaux de France, is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, which issue a joint rule book as Grand Slam Tennis.^[7] It is played on clay at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris; the stadium’s own site says of the tournament: “It is the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments to be played on clay.”^[4] Men’s and women’s singles are each played as a 128-player main draw under the rule book, alongside doubles, and the tournament also stages wheelchair and quad tennis competitions.^[7][6]

Who organizes Roland-Garros?

The Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT), the French Tennis Federation, runs the tournament. At its presentation of the 2026 edition the tournament director was Amélie Mauresmo and the federation’s president was Gilles Moretton.^[6] The rules on entry, seeding and the make-up of the draws are set in the Official Grand Slam Rule Book, common to the four majors.^[7] The ranking points a result earns are fixed by the two tours, the ATP for men and the WTA for women, under their own ranking rules.^[8][9]

When and where is it held?

The main draw is played over two weeks from late May into early June. The 2020 edition was the exception: the ATP results archive dates it from 27 September to 11 October 2020.^[2] The venue is the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, which, in the stadium’s own words, “was first opened in 1928 to host the Internationaux de France tennis tournament”; the organiser’s history says the tournament settled there for good from that year.^[4][5] The tournament’s official travel site gives the 2027 edition as running from 17 May to 6 June 2027, with an opening week from 17 to 21 May, the first round from 23 to 25 May and the finals on 5 and 6 June.^[3]

Men’s (M) and women’s (W) singles champions, as the Roland-Garros roll of honour prints them; main-draw dates as the ATP Tour results archive prints them; all editions at the Stade Roland-Garros, Paris.^[1]

Since when does it exist?

The tournament’s roll of honour lists men’s singles champions from 1891, beginning with H. Briggs, and women’s singles champions from 1897, beginning with Adine Masson; it prints “No competition” for the women’s event from 1891 to 1896.^[1] The organiser’s own history dates two later turning points: the championships were opened to international players in 1925, and the stadium was inaugurated in 1928 at the Porte d’Auteuil, built in haste, the history says, after France’s Musketeers won the Davis Cup in 1927.^[5] The stadium’s own site says it was named after “a famous French fighter pilot”, Roland Garros.^[4]

How do players qualify?

Entry follows the 2026 Official Grand Slam Rule Book. Unless otherwise agreed, a 128-player singles main draw is made up of direct acceptances, “accepted directly in the draw by virtue of their singles ranking”; qualifiers, 16, 12 or 8 of them, who come through a qualifying competition; and 8 wild cards, players “included in the draw at the sole discretion of the individual Grand Slam Tournament”.^[7] The ranking used is the one dated approximately 42 days before the tournament starts, and entries close 42 days before its first Monday. A 128-player qualifying competition takes 119 direct acceptances and 9 wild cards, and the main draw has at least 16 seeds.^[7] See wildcards and universality places and world rankings.

Why does it matter?

Ranking points are the measurable proxy. The ATP awards 2,000 points to a Grand Slam singles champion, 1,300 to the runner-up, 800 to a semi-finalist and 400 to a quarter-finalist, and counts four Grand Slams among the 18 tournaments in its ranking breakdown.^[8] The WTA’s Grand Slam scale also starts at 2,000 for the champion and 1,300 for the runner-up.^[9] The tournament put its 2026 prize money at 61.723 million euros, up 9.53% on 2025, with the qualifying event’s prize money up 12.9% and 1,018,500 euros for the wheelchair and quad competitions.^[6]

Who competes?

Entry is individual: the rule book’s acceptance criteria are singles rankings, qualifying results and wild cards, and the singles fields are 128 players each.^[7] The events run for men and women, with wheelchair and quad competitions alongside them.^[6] No count of the players or nations entered in 2026 could be retrieved from the organiser. The roll of honour prints no nationality beside any champion, and the table above follows it; see national suspensions and neutral athletes.^[1]