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French Open History

The French Open began its existence as a men's singles tournament for members of French clubs. It was held for the first time in 1891 at the Stade Francais club in Paris. Six years later, the tournament added women's singles competitions. At the same time, the World Hard Court Championships also were being held in France and have often been considered the true precursor to the Open, as it was open to international players.

As for the French Championships, international players were invited to participate in 1925. For the next three years, the new French Internationals was held at the Stade Francais and Racing Club de France, until 1928, when the Roland Garros Stadium was built.

The 1928 French Internationals was the first event held in Roland Garros, built to host the Davis Cup later that year. Over the next five years, the French Internationals established itself as a major international tournament -- thanks in large part to the success and popularity of the "Musketeers," the men who had won the Davis Cup in 1927 and several years in a row after that.

Those four men and a few other established French tennis stars excelled in the first few decades of the tournament, and it was only in 1933 that a non-Frenchman won the men's title for the first time, when John H. Crawford beat Henri Cochet.

The championship was cancelled from 1940-45 due to World War II, but it returned strong as tennis continued to grow in popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1956, American Althea Gibson won the women's singles title, becoming the first African-American to win a Grand Slam singles event.

In 1968, the tournament became the first Grand Slam event to join the "Open" era, allowing professionals to join the championships. That allowed some incredible years in the following decades, including Bjorn Borg's impressive six victories between 1974 and 1981 (four of them consecutively). At the same time Borg was dominating the men's competition, Chris Evert was easing through the women's tournaments -- winning six titles, more than any other female player, all between 1974 and 1986.

In 1981, the Open added several new prizes to the competition: the Prix Orange, for the player with the most sportsmanship; the Prix Citron, for the player with the best personality; and the Prix Bourgeon, for the tennis player revelation of the year.

Since 2006, the tournament has begun on a Sunday, not a Monday, as most tennis tournaments. The following year, the Open provided equal prize money to men and women for the first time. The current purse for a singles' winner is 1,200,000 euros.

After Frenchmen dominated the early years of the Open -- before internationals were allowed to play -- it has been Spanish citizens most often holding the title in recent years. Spain has the most men's single titles in Open history with 13 -- France sits behind the U.S. and Australia (both 11) with 10. The Spanish domination is most evident, of course, in the current holder, Rafael Nadal. Nadal has won the tournament five times in six appearances -- twice without losing a set, in 2008 and 2010.

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