Roland Garros: A visual guide to the 125th edition of the iconic clay court grand slam

(CNN) — It’s late spring, heading into the summer and that can only mean one thing: the French Open is back and tennis fans around the world rejoice at the news of the return of the iconic clay court grand slam.

Heading into the 125th edition of the tournament, which kicked off on Sunday, fans suffered a big blow as two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz said he would not be competing in the main draw for the first time since 2020 due to a wrist injury. Then a heat wave fell over Europe, causing high temperatures at the tournament which have affected the players. Most notably, the conditions seemed to play in a part in world No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s shock loss to Juan Manuel Cerúndolo.

The results have left the door open for other contenders. Will Casper Ruud or Sasha Zverev lift the trophy for the first time? Or will Novak Djokovic finally win his elusive 25th grand slam?

With still more than a week to go, here’s everything you need to know about one of the world’s oldest tennis tournaments:

A history beginning in the 19th century

Starting out as the “French Clay-Court Championships” in 1891 – allowing only players from France to compete – the French Open was officially created in 1925 when foreign players were first invited.

In 1927, a new arena was purpose built for France’s defense of its 1927 Davis Cup title and named after Roland Garros – not a sportsman, but a pioneering French aviator who was killed in World War I.

The French Open is one of tennis’ four grand slam tournaments along with Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open – and the only one played on clay.

But are the courts really made of clay? The answer is not much.

Clay makes up just a small part of the tennis court, with 1-2 millimeters of crushed red bricks giving them their famous red hue.

Playing on clay is considerably different to playing on grass or hard courts.

Clay is more physically demanding as it is the slowest of the three surfaces, producing longer rallies, more running and more shots.

Grueling five-set matches on clay can push players close to their physical limits.

Matches on clay are also sometimes referred to as chess matches, where a well-placed shot can set up a winner two or three shots later.

Clay also has considerably more friction than grass or hard courts, allowing the ball to grip to the dust and bounce much higher, in particular shots with heavy topspin.

Even for a player as accomplished as Novak Djokovic, one of the sport’s all-time greats, clay continues to be a tricky surface to master.

“It’s a very demanding surface,” Djokovic said after winning his first clay court match post completing the “Golden Slam” at the Paris Olympics.

“We all know how tricky it is to play on clay; compared to the other surfaces, you always have to expect an extra one or two shots, balls coming back.”

While Roland Garros is considered the pinnacle of the clay season, there are many other ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tournaments played on the red dust.

This year, there are 19 tournaments scheduled to be played on clay in the ATP Tour, while the women will play 12 clay court tournaments in 2026.

But hard court is still the most popular surface on both tours this season. Hard court is also favored by US players as most of the American tournaments are played on that surface.

Money, money, money

While some smaller tournaments pay the male winner more than female players, all four grand slams offer equal prize money. The US Open was the first to award both tournament winners equal money in 1973 – something championed by Billie Jean King.

The Australian Open followed suit 11 years later, offering men and women equal pay but reverted to paying men more in 1996. In 2001, they reversed course again and offered both men’s and women’s winners $440,000.

Roland Garros implemented equal pay in 2006, and one year later Wimbledon committed to equal pay. Today, the four slams offer equal pay for each round of the draw.

This year, Roland Garros is offering a record-breaking €61.7 million (about $71.8 million) total prize pot with the singles men and women winner taking home €2.8 million (roughly $3.3 million), the highest prize the French tournament has ever offered.

Will we ever have another ‘King of Clay’?

The last time Rafael Nadal – the most accomplished tennis player in history on clay – won the tournament was in 2023.

In November 2024, the “King of Clay” played his final match of professional tennis when Spain lost in the Davis Cup. With 22 grand slams in his pocket – including a record 14 French Opens – we look at the new generation of tennis players who perform well on the red stuff.

Will we ever see someone match Nadal’s achievements on clay?

What makes the French Open different to other grand slams?

With Paris being the fashion capital of the world, players have debuted some eye-catching outfits at Roland Garros.

Ahead of her first-round win this year, Naomi Osaka wore an eye-catching black corset and matching pleated cascading skirt that skimmed over the red clay, before removing them to reveal a shimmering gold-sequinned dress that in the four-time grand slam champion’s words looked a little like the “Eiffel Tower at night.”

However, the most famous of all the Roland Garros outfits has to be Serena Williams’ superhero-esque “catsuit” she wore in 2018 just months after giving birth to her first child.

The glitz and glamor of the tournament also draw celebrities from all walks of life, with singer/producer/composer Pharrell Williams, actors Eddie Redmayne, Natalie Portman and Dustin Hoffman, Formula One driver Geroge Russell and former NBA champion Tony Parker among those in attendance recently.

The French Open crowd is also known for being among the most boisterous on the tennis calendar.

The famous chant taken from the pasodoble “En Er Mundo” can be heard across Roland Garros throughout the tournament’s two weeks.

Somebody in the crowd will sing “Popopopopopopo pololoooo!” with the rest of the arena responding with an: “Olééé!”

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