Hey Tennis Lovers!

The second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments, the Roland Garros Tournament, started on Monday, May 20! Also known as the French Open, this tournament will be held over 2 weeks at the Stade Roland Garros stadium. Played on clay courts this is the only major tournament not played on grass and is widely regarded as the most strenuous tournament in tennis. 

There are a number of players to keep your eyes on this year. Iga Swiatek is going for a record tying 3 French Open titles in a row. If she wins, she will join Monica Seles and Justine Henin as the third women to accomplish this feat. She will face some tough competition from Aryna Sabalenka who is ranked #2 and is coming off a loss to Swiatek at the Italian Open last week. Rounding out the top ranked women, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina are bringing confidence to the court and are sure to be worthy opponents

On the men’s side, defending champion Novak Djokovic is going for his fourth French Open title. Ranked #1, Djokovic has yet to win a tournament this year and has some others that are itching to win. Coming off his second Italian Open title, Alexander Zverev may be one to watch. The other top ranked, Jannik Sinner & Carlos Alcaraz have been out injured and are looking to come back with a win. 

To get you ready for the tournament, we’re serving up some fun French Open facts you can share with your friends: 

• around 5,000 balls are used per day; clay wears out the balls more than any other surface therefore they are changed every 9 games
  
  


• The tournament and venue are Named after the French aviator Roland Garros, the first-ever man to fly solo over the Mediterranean
  
  


• It became the first Grand Slam tournament to allow both amateurs and professional players to compete in In 1968
  
  


• In March 2007 the event became the last of the grand slams to provide equal prize money for both men and women
  


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  Clay slows down the ball and create a high bounce, in contrast to grass or hard courts
  
  

  
  


• The French Open is the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments happening after the Australian Open and before Wimbledon and the US Open.
  
  


• Youngest woman to win: Monica Seles at 16 years and six months in In 1990; youngest man: Michael Chang at 17 years and three months in 1989
  
  


• Oldest woman to win: Serena Williams at 33 years and 8 months in 2015; oldest man: Andres Gimeno at 34 years and ten months in 1972
  

I'm excited to watch some of these matches over the next two weeks. As for the finals, the women's is set for Sat, June 8th followed by the men's final on Sun, June 9th. You can find out how to follow the action here and live updates can be found here. Are there any matches you're looking forward to watching? Who are your favorites to win? 

And remember, you can record your tennis activities on Strava to share with your friends!