CNN
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It’s crunch time in Paris as we reach the business end of the French Open.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka came through a battle against four-time winner and defending champion Iga Świątek to make the women’s final where she will face American star Coco Gauff, who ended Lois Boisson’s Cinderella story.
Meanwhile, in the men’s draw, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Italian star Lorenzo Musetti to make it to the final against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
We look set for another memorable weekend of action on the iconic red clay of Roland Garros.
Here’s everything you need to know about one of the world’s oldest tennis tournaments:
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 recently winning his first clay court match since 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 18 tournaments scheduled to be played on clay in the ATP Tour, while the women will play 11 clay court tournaments in 2025.
But hard court is still the most popular surface on both tours in 2025. Hard court is also favored by US players as most of the American tournaments are played on that surface.
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.
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 the other grand slams?
With Paris being the fashion capital of the world, players have debuted some eye-catching outfits at Roland Garros.
This year, Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen modeled a unique calf-length pleated skirt – inspired by Suzanne Lenglen’s iconic style – though she said she is “too shy” to wear it on the court.
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 draws celebrities from all walks of life, with singer/producer/composer Pharrell Williams, actor Ben Stiller and three-time Formula One world drivers champion Jackie Stewart among those in attendance last year.
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!”
We are guaranteed to see a brand new winner of the women’s title – who will see their name etched in history this weekend: Sabalenka or Gauff?
In the men’s draw, can Alcaraz become the first man to go back-to-back since his idol Nadal in 2020 or will Sinner win his first French Open?
