French Open 2022: Dates, prize money, trivia and history

The tournament played on an outdoor clay court is officially known as Roland Garros. The Grand Slam tournament features a 128-player singles event, 64-team doubles event, and a 32-team mixed double event.

History of the French Open

The first edition of the French Open was held in 1891 and only featured the men's event, with the women's event being added to the tournament six years later. The tournament organized by French Tennis Federation was opened to foreign players in 1925. The tournament has been popularly known as Roland Garros since first held at Roland Garros stadium in 1928. The stadium was named after Roland-Garros, a former French Tennis Federation member who was the first man to fly a plane over the Mediterranean on September 23, 1913.

French Open 2021

French Open organized its 125th edition in 2021 from May 30 to June 13 after a one-year absence due to Covid-19. The tournament had formal night sessions for the first time, but the spectators were prohibited from attending after 9 pm due to a nationwide curfew.

In the men's event, Novak Djokovic defeated Greek tennis sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 (8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to win his second French Open title. The victory made the Serbian Tennis star the first player to win all four Grand Slam events.

In the women's event, Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 to win her first Grand Slam event. The victory made her the first Czech woman to win the singles trophy at the French Open since Hana Mandlikova in 1981.

Prize money

The prize money for the champion of Roland Garros for both the men's and women's events is Euro 2.2 million. The runners-up will receive Euro 1.1 million, semi-finalists will receive Euro 6,00,000, and the quarter-finalists will get Euro 3,80,000.

Most successful players at French Open

Rafael Nadal won the singles title at Roland Garros 13 times, seven times more than second-placed Bjorn Borg. 

Chris Evert has won the tournament seven times in the women's singles, with her last title victory at Roland Garros in 1986.

Favourites for the 2022 title

Men's title

Rafael Nadal is currently the record holder for the maximum number of Major titles, with 21 Major trophies. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer were tied for the record with 20 Major titles each. However, Novak Djokovic did not get the opportunity to defend his Australian Open title, allowing Rafael Nadal to move ahead after beating Russia's Daniil Medvedev in Melbourne.

Carlos Alcaraz recently defeated Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to win the titles at Madrid Open and Barcelona Open. The Spanish teenage sensation will be going into the tournament as a strong contender who has proven ability to trouble the top player in men's tennis consistently.

Women's title

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland won the title at Roland Garros in 2019 when she was ranked 54 on the WTA rankings. She will be heading into the French Open with a 28-match winning streak and five consecutive titles, making her the undisputed favourite to clinch the title.

French Open has produced nine first-time winners in the last 15 years. Ons Jabeur of Tunisia recently became the first Arab woman to win a WTA 1000 title at Madrid Open. Ons Jabeur, Paula Bados of Spain, and Maria Sakkari of Greece will also be strong contenders for the prestigious Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.