User:Bluedogtn/Sandbox French Women's Intro

The French Open, known originally as the Internationaux de France, is an annual tennis tournament created in 1891 and played on outdoor red clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. In 1897, the women's singles event came into existence. The French Open is played during two weeks in late May and early June, and has been chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the tennis season since 1987. The event was not held from 1915 to 1919 because of World War I, and unofficially held from 1940 to 1945 because of World War II.

The Racing Club de France and the Stade Français of Paris alternated hosting the event, before the competition was moved in 1928 to the newly built Stade Roland Garros, where it has been played since. The tournament was reserved for members of French tennis clubs, until the first edition open to international players took place in 1925. From 1941 to 1945, the Vichy regime requisitioned the site and held a Tournoi de France, for French players only, won two times by Alice Weiwers and once by the following players: Simone Iribarne Lafargue, Raymonde Jones Veber, and Lolette Payot. Those editions are not counted in the tournament's history.

The women's singles' rules have undergone several changes since the first edition. The event has always been contested in a knockout format. Records show matches were played as the best-of-three sets format for all of the history of the tournament. The lingering death best-of-twelve points tie-break was introduced in 1973 for the first two sets.

The champion receives a miniature replica of the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen (Suzanne Lenglen Cup), named after Suzanne Lenglen. In 2009, the winner received a prize money of €1,060,000. In the French Championships, Adine Masson (1897–1899, 1902–1903) holds the record for most titles in the men's singles with five victories, however all his wins came when the tournament was reserved to members of French tennis clubs and French nationals. The record for most consecutive titles is held at four by Jeanne Matthey (1909–1912) and Suzanne Lenglen (1920–1923),, whose titles all came within the club members only format. After the tournament was opened to international competitors, but before the French Open, Helen Wills Moody (1928–1930, 1932) holds the record for most wins at four. The most consecutive wins is at three apiece, and is co-held by two players, Helen Wills Moody (1928–1930) and Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling (1935–1937). In the French Open, the most wins is held by Chris Evert with seven (1974–1975, 1979–1980, 1983, 1985–1986). The most consecutive wins during the French Open is three straight Monica Seles (1990–1992) and Justine Henin (2005–2007).