Roland-Garros, colloquially referred to as the French Open in anglophone countries, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and venue are named after the French aviator Roland Garros. The French Open is the premier clay court championship in the world and the only Grand Slam tournament currently held on this surface. It is chronologically the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments, occurring after the Australian Open and before Wimbledon and the US Open. Until 1975, the French Open was the only major tournament not played on grass. Between the seven rounds needed for a championship, the clay surface characteristics, and the best-of-five-set men's singles matches, the French Open is widely regarded as the toughest and most physically demanding tournament in tennis.
The Grand Slam in tennis is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in a calendar year. In doubles, a Grand Slam may be achieved as a team or as an individual with different partners. Winning all four major championships consecutively but not within the same calendar year is referred to as a "non-calendar-year Grand Slam", while winning the four majors at any point during the course of a career is known as a "Career Grand Slam".
Mats Arne Olof Wilander is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. From 1982 to 1988, he won seven major singles titles, and one major men's doubles title. His breakthrough came suddenly and unexpectedly when he won the 1982 French Open at the age of 17.
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contested by UEFA members' senior men's national teams, determining the continental champion of Europe. It is the second-most watched football tournament in the world after the FIFA World Cup; the Euro 2016 final was watched by a global audience of around 600 million. The competition has been held every four years since 1960, except for 2020, when it was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, but kept the name Euro 2020. Scheduled to be in the even-numbered year between FIFA World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the European Nations' Cup before changing to its current name in 1968. Since 1996, the individual events have been branded as "UEFA Euro [year]".
William Anthony Parker Jr. is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in the LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in the French basketball league before joining the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Spurs with the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and quickly became their starting point guard. Parker won four NBA championships, all of which were with the Spurs. He also played for ASVEL Basket in France during the 2011 NBA lockout, and finished his playing career after one season with the Charlotte Hornets. He retired as the ninth leading scorer and fifth leading passer in NBA playoffs history.
Jean René Lacoste was a French tennis player and businessman. He was nicknamed "the Crocodile" because of how he dealt with his opponents; he is also known worldwide as the creator of the Lacoste tennis shirt, which he introduced in 1929, and eventually founded the brand and its logo in 1933.
Jean Laurent Robert Borotra was a French tennis champion. He was one of the "Four Musketeers" from his country who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Borotra was imprisoned in Itter Castle during the latter years of World War II and subsequently fought in the Battle for Castle Itter.
The France national rugby union team represents the French Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union matches. Colloquially known as Le XV de France, the team traditionally wears blue shirts with a Gallic rooster embroidered on the chest, white shorts and red socks in reference to the French national flag. Les Bleus mostly play home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship along with England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. France have won the tournament on 26 occasions, winning the Grand Slam 10 times.
Fabrice Vetea Santoro is a French former professional tennis player. Successful in both singles and doubles, he had an unusually long professional career, with many of his accomplishments coming towards the end of his career, and he is popular among spectators and other players alike for his winning demeanor and shot-making abilities; he is also one of a rare breed of player who plays two-handed on both the forehand and backhand sides.
André Henri Gobert was a tennis player from France. Gobert is a double Olympic tennis champion of 1912. At the Stockholm Games, he won both the men's singles and doubles indoor gold medals.
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sport with more complex rules. The first Lawn Tennis Club and tournament was held in Royal Leamington Spa on 1 August 1882.
Simone Bolelli is an Italian professional tennis player. Bolelli is a Grand Slam champion, having won the 2015 Australian Open doubles event with Fabio Fognini, together becoming the first male all-Italian pair to win a Major title in the Open Era. He has a career-high ATP ranking in doubles of World No. 8 achieved on 17 August 2015 and in singles of World No. 36 achieved on 23 February 2009.
The 1974 France rugby union tour of Brazil and Argentina was a series of rugby union team matches played in June 1974 by the France national team in Argentina and Brasil.
William Laurentz was a French tennis player of the early 20th century whose main achievements were winning the singles title at the World Hard Court Championships and World Covered Court Championships.
Mate Pavić is a Croatian professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. Pavić is one of only six men to complete the Career Golden Slam in doubles.
William Arthur Knight is a former tennis player from Great Britain who competed on the amateur tour in the 1950s and 1960s. He was active from 1951 to 1968 and won 47 career singles titles. a quarter finalist at the French Championships in 1959 and a clay court specialist where most his titles came, but also won titles on grass and wood indoor courts. His biggest wins were winning the British Hard Court Championships, British Covered Court Championships (1960), German International Championships (1959)
Michel Taffary is a French former rugby union international.
