Stade de Roland Garros

The French Open, officially the Tournoi de Roland-Garros (Roland Garros Tournament), is a tennis event held over two weeks between mid May and early June in Paris, France, and is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on the annual tennis calendar.

The French Open, then called the French Internationals, were held alternately at Stade Français and Racing Club de France since 1925. In 1927, France won the Davis Cup in against USA, and set up a rematch in Paris for the next year. There was a need of a new stadium to hold such a major sporting event, and the Stade Français handed over three hectares of land near Porte d’Auteuil to the French Tennis Federation for this purpose. The 1928 French Internationals were the first event to be held in the new stadium.

Redevelopment work has been going on at Roland Garros since 1999. The stands in the centre court were reconstructed, and the capacity was reduced to 15,059 to make more space for the ever-increasing media crews. Officially inaugurated at the opening of the 2000 French Open, the centre court was renamed the Philippe Chatrier Court in 2001. In 2003, a tennis museum was built, along with a video area and a library.

Court Philippe Chatrier is the main tennis court at the French Open in Paris, France. Built in 1928, it currently holds 15,059 spectators. It is named after Philippe Chatrier, who was head of the French Tennis Federation and helped bring back tennis to the Summer Olympics in 1988.

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Roland Garros website
Roland Garros wikipedia entry
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