French Open Tickets

The 2012 French Open will be held over a two week period between May 27 and June 10 in Paris, France. Will Rafael Nadal defend his title and claim the throne as the greatest French Open player of all time, or will this be the year that Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic finally beat him on clay? Can China’s first women’s champ Li Na repeat her historic run or will a rising star like Victoria Azarenka win her first French Open after winning the 2012 Australian Open? Grand Slam tickets always go fast, so get your French Open tickets before they run out to see who wins the 2012 battle on clay.

In 1968, the French Championships became the first Grand Slam tournament to allow both amateurs and professionals to compete, thus “open.” Also called the Roland Garros Tournament after French WWI pilot Roland Garros, the French Open is the only Grand Slam event held on a clay court. The Roland Garros stadium first opened in 1928 and has hosted the French Open ever since. The other Grand Slams are the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon. The five categories include men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Each winner receives a trophy made of pure silver with a plate with their name on it holding the trophy.

The French Open is the most watched French event in the world and is considered to be one of the most physically demanding tennis tournaments because of the slow playing surface. The ball bounces slower and higher off of clay then grass or hard surfaces, which takes some advantages like big serves away from some players. This has led to some all-time greats like Pete Sampras, known for his devastating serve, to come up short at the French Open. Other players who have never won at the French Open while enjoying considerable success elsewhere include John McEnroe, Venus Williams, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick. Some players have games better suited to the slow surface including Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Rafael Nadal, Mats Wilander and Justine Henin. The only male players who have won both Wimbledon and the French Open in the open era are Rod Layer, Jan Kodes, Bjorn Borg, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The current French Open champions are Rafael Nadal, who won his sixth French Open and tenth slam title; Li Na, who won her first Grand slam singles title and the first singles title for Asia and China; Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi won the men’s doubles, the third French Open doubles title for both; Andrea Hlavackoya and Lucie Hradecka won the women’s doubles, the first major title for both; and Casey Dellacqua and Scott Lipsky won the mixed doubles, the first French Open mixed doubles title for both. If no one can stop him this year, Nadal will pass Bjorn Borg as the greatest French Open Champion of all time with 7 titles. In 2010, it was announced that the French Open was going to undergo some renovations.In 2011, the decision was made to keep the French Open at its’ current location near the Porte d'Auteuil, with the venue set to undergo major renovations by 2016, expanding the size of the venue by 60%.