The French Open tennis has returned. Let’s have a look at the numbers to see why this tournament is one of the four Grand Slam events in the calendar year.
1 Adriano Panatta:
The only champion who managed to beat Bjorn Borg at Roland Garros and he managed it twice in 1973 and 1976.
1-2 millimetres:
The depth of red-brick dust that gives a clay court its distinctive surface.
3 kilogram jars:
The size of the jars of Nutella at Roland Garros’ crepe stalls.
4 Mousquetaires:
Rene Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon and Henri Cochet, after whom the men’s singles trophy is named.
5 great champions:
Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Martina Hingis and Jimmy Connors were all great tennis champions, but none of them managed to win at Roland Garros.
6 centimetres:
The width of the white lines painted on the clay courts.
7 French Open titles:
The record number of women’s singles titles won by Chris Evert in 9 final appearances between 1973 and 1986.
9 French Open titles:
The record number of men’s singles titles won by Rafael Nadal.
15 years:
The age at which Suzanne Lenglen became world tennis champion.
32 minutes:
The shortest final ever played at Roland Garros between Steffi Graf and Natasha Zvereva, won by the German 6-0, 6-0.
116 million:
The number of television viewers in China who tuned in to watch Lia Na win in 2011.
341 minutes:
The longest uninterrupted match played at Roland Garros, won by Paul-Henri Mathieu against John Isner in 2012 (6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 18-16).
640 matches:
The number of matches played throughout the two weeks.
1,300 journalists:
The number of international journalists who cover the event.
5,465 bananas:
The average number of bananas consumed by players during the tournament.
10,000 spectators:
The number that can be accommodated on Suzanne Lenglen Court.
15,000 seats:
The capacity of Philippe Chatrier Court.
65,000 balls:
The number used from first round to finals in all events.
428,000 visitors:
The average attendance since 2010.
