The 2016 French Open is about to begin and the buzz which accompanies the year’s only clay-court major tournament is escalating. It’s the second Grand Slam of the season and most of the attention will be focused on Serena Williams. Can she in fact win? Of course, she’s capable, but remember that her win at the Italian Open last week was her first in nine months (even though she only participated in four events). And remember that she stumbled at the Australian Open in the final, so she’s not untouchable. When she’s focused, she’s the one to beat on any surface but that’s been a big question in 2016. If she’s not the one to get it done, then who will emerge from the crowd? The competition in the 128-player main draw begins on Sunday, May 22 in Paris.
Event Details
Event: French Open
Category: ITF (International Tennis Federation) Grand Slam
Date: May 22 – June 5, 2016
Location: Stade Roland Garros – Paris, France
With a prize money allotment of roughly 32 million Euros, there will be a great chance for players to take home the kind of cash which fuels their careers and get the level of resources which will fund medical care if it’s ever needed, specialized coaching, and more of a support team to help with all the logistics and details of not merely playing tennis around the world, but handling media responsibilities and getting complete accommodations at hotels and other places which can make life more comfortable in between matches. Merely making and losing in the first round – not even winning a single main-draw match – pays more than winning two or three matches at a lower-level tournament during the season for a lot of players. Making the fourth round will be worth as much as winning a small tournament or making the final of a medium-level tournament, or the semifinals of a tournament whose status is just one tier below a Grand Slam event. The runner-up and the champion at the French Open will make millions of Euros. This is a season-making event, as are the other three Grand Slam tournaments. If any player ranked outside the top 30 or 40 is able to get to the fourth round, or any player outside the top 20 is able to make the quarterfinals, such a result will compensate for any previous failures to make a sufficient amount of money.
The points structure under the ITF system is that for the women, the championship means 2,000 points. A runner-up finish is worth 1,300. A semifinal result is 780 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 430 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Serena Williams d. Lucie Safarova – 6-3, 6-7, 6-2
2014 – Maria Sharapova def. Simona Halep – 6-4. 6-7, 6-4
2013 – Serena Williams def. Maria Sharapova – 6-4, 6-4
2012 – Maria Sharapova def. Sara Errani – 6-3, 6-2
2011 – Li Na def. Francesca Schiavone – 6-4, 7-6
Player Info:
Victoria Azarenka will play in this tournament, but she has a bad back. Maria Sharapova will not play because of the provisional suspension she is serving for taking a banned substance at the Australian Open earlier this year. The other major players will be in Paris, and they’ll be healthy. Serena Williams leads the list, as does Angelique Kerber, who won the Australian Open. Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova will also be on hand, as will 2015 runner-up Lucie Safarova and a large cast of other participants.
Stade Roland Garros
The 2016 French Open will return to its fabled home, the large tennis facility named after a World War I aviator. Roland Garros is the name of this tournament in Europe, whereas Americans call it the French Open. There is no night tennis in Paris. Matches are all played in the daytime, which makes this tournament difficult for players if they have to stay on court a long time. The broiling Parisian sun in the late spring months can be a burden if the temperatures soar. (The weather can also be cold and wet as well.) This is a physical challenge for players who simply won’t have a chance to play their matches in shade or at night.
