[1] The French Open is the premier clay court championship in the world and the only Grand Slam tournament currently held on this surface.

Between the seven rounds needed for a championship, the clay surface characteristics (slower pace, higher bounce), and the best-of-five-set men's singles matches, the French Open is widely regarded as the most physically demanding tournament in tennis.

In 1924 there was no World Hard Court Championships due to tennis being played at the Paris Olympic Games in Colombes.

The Stade de France had offered the tennis authorities three hectares of land with the condition that the new stadium must be named after the World War I aviator hero Roland Garros.

Additionally, on the eve of the tournament's opening, the traditional Benny Berthet exhibition day takes place, where the profits go to different charity associations.

In March 2007, it was announced that the event would provide equal prize money for both men and women in all rounds for the first time.

[18] Plans to renovate and expand Roland Garros have put aside any such consideration, and the tournament remains in its long time home.

[21] The 2024 edition marked the first time that a member of the Big Three (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) was not featured in the final since 2004.

[23][24][25] Various proposals were put forward to expand the facility or to move the tournament to a completely new, 55-court venue outside of Paris city limits.

1 with a grassy hill for outdoors viewing, and geographical extension of the venue eastward into the Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil.

[29] Legal opposition from environmental defence associations and other stakeholders delayed the works for several years as litigation ensued.

[30] In particular, the city council voted in May 2015 against the expansion project, but on 9 June 2015 Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced the signing of the construction permits, with work scheduled to begin in September of that year and conclude in 2019.

[35] The 2020 edition of the tournament, which was the first to be assisted by the roof over Philippe-Chatrier, was postponed to late September and early October and was played in front of limited spectators, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[citation needed] For this reason, clay courts take away some of the advantages of big servers and serve-and-volleyers, which makes it hard for these types of players to dominate on the surface.

Many other notable players have won multiple Grand Slam events but have never won the French Open, including John McEnroe, Frank Sedgman, John Newcombe, Venus Williams, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Murray, Jimmy Connors, Louise Brough, Virginia Wade and Martina Hingis; McEnroe and Edberg lost their only French Open finals appearances in five sets.

On the other hand, players whose games are more suited to jumpier surfaces, such as Rafael Nadal, Björn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Justine Henin and Chris Evert, have found great success at this tournament.

In the Open Era, the only male players who have won both the French Open and Wimbledon, played on faster grass courts, are Rod Laver, Jan Kodeš, Björn Borg, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz and only female players are Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep and Ashleigh Barty.

This trophy, donated by Suzanne Lenglen's family to the Musée National du Sport, was awarded between 1979 and 1985 to every winner until the FFT made a copy.

[50] Studio presentation for the French Open on France Télévisions is hosted by Laurent Luyat and is historically located on a terrace in a corner of the Court Philippe Chatrier.

[52] In 2007,[53] Tennis Channel acquired the pay television rights to the tournament and sub-licensed coverage of morning window (U.S. time) matches to ESPN for broadcast by ESPN2 from 2007 through 2015.

[55][56] Starting with the 2023 edition and continuing the following year, NBC moved some of its coverage of the French Open exclusively to its streaming service, Peacock.

[57][58] In June 2024, it was reported that the U.S. rights had been acquired by TNT Sports beginning in 2025, as part of an overall deal with Warner Bros.