(Reuters) – Following are facts and records ahead of the 125th edition of the French Open, which begins on Sunday.
PRIZE MONEY
Men’s/women’s singles winner: 1.4 million euros ($1.71 million)
Men’s/women’s singles runner-up: 750,000 euros
Total prize pot: 34.36 million euros
SHOWCOURTS
The claycourt major will initially welcome up to 1,000 fans at each of the three main showcourts while the smaller venues will be able to admit 35% of their capacity during the first 10 days of the championships due to COVID-19 restrictions in France.
The limit will be raised to 65% but capped at 5,000 for matches on 15,000-capacity Philippe Chatrier and 10,000-seater Suzanne Lenglen courts from June 9 when the quarter-finals get underway,
Court Philippe Chatrier
Capacity: 15,000
The court, named after the French Tennis Federation’s long-time president Philippe Chatrier, is the Grand Slam’s principal venue.
A retractable roof was installed on the court for the first time at the 2020 edition. It takes around 15 minutes to close and covers a surface area of one hectare.
Court Suzanne Lenglen
Capacity: 10,068
The court is named after France’s Suzanne Lenglen, who won six women’s singles titles at Wimbledon, two French Championships and two Olympic gold medals.
Court Simonne Mathieu
Capacity: 5,000
Named after twice Roland Garros champion Simonne Mathieu, the court was built in 2019 on the grounds of the famed botanical garden Jardin des Serres, surrounded by four greenhouses.
TOP SEEDS
Men’s singles
1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
2-Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
3-Rafa Nadal (Spain)
4-Dominic Thiem (Austria)
5-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
Women’s singles
1-Ash Barty (Australia)
2-Naomi Osaka (Japan)
3-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
4-Sofia Kenin (U.S.)
5-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
MOST CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES
Men’s singles
13 – Rafa Nadal (Spain)
Women’s singles
7 – Chris Evert (U.S.)
(Compiled by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
