held
over two weeks between mid-May and early June in Paris, France, at the
Stade Roland Garros. It is the second of the Grand Slam tournaments on
the annual tennis calendar and the premier clay court tennis tournament
in the world.Because
of the slow playing surface and the five-set men's singles matches
without a tiebreak in the final set, some say that the event is the most
physically demanding tennis tournament in the world.
The
trophies are all made of pure silver with finely etched decorations on
their side, each new singles winner gets his or her name written on the
plate holding the trophy. Winners receive a
replica of the won trophy. Pure silver replicas of the trophies are
fabricated and engraved for each winner by the Maison Mellerio, located
in the Rue de la Paix,
Paris.
In
March 2007, it was announced that the event will provide equal prize
money for both men and women in all rounds for the first time ever.
