The French Open moved to the Roland Garros stadium in 1928.
The move followed France’s Davis Cup triumph in 1927, when the country’s celebrated “Four Musketeers”—René Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Jacques Brugnon—won the trophy on American soil. France needed a larger venue to host its 1928 Davis Cup defence, so the Stade Français provided land near Porte d’Auteuil in Paris for a new tennis complex.
The stadium was named after Roland Garros, a French aviation pioneer and First World War pilot who had died in 1918. The 1928 Davis Cup challenge was the venue’s original major purpose, and the French International Championships moved there on 24 May 1928. The tournament has remained at the site ever since.
The name “Roland Garros” therefore refers both to the tournament and its historic venue. The central court was originally called Court Central and was renamed Court Philippe-Chatrier in 2001, honoring the former president of the French Tennis Federation and International Tennis Federation.