France’s 1927 win in the Davis Cup prompted the building of Stade Roland Garros.
France defeated the United States in Philadelphia in 1927, led by the four players later celebrated as the Four Musketeers: Jacques Brugnon, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and René Lacoste. Their victory meant France would host the following year’s Davis Cup challenge, but the existing Paris facilities were considered too small for an event of that importance.
A new complex was built at Porte d’Auteuil during the winter of 1927–28. It opened in 1928 with France defending the Davis Cup against the United States. The site was named for Roland Garros, a pioneering French aviator and First World War hero; the naming was a condition attached to the land made available by the Stade Français.
The French Open later moved there in 1928 and became permanently associated with the venue. That is why the tournament is commonly called Roland-Garros, even though the stadium’s name commemorates an aviator rather than a tennis champion. France’s Davis Cup success, not the French Open itself, was the immediate reason for constructing the stadium.