Curiosities 29 – From Air to Clay: The Story of Roland Garros

João Henrique Barboza Jorgetto • Mar 15, 2024

How about discovering the history of the name behind the most famous tennis tournament held in France, Roland Garros?

The name became much better known in Brazil when our illustrious tennis player Gustavo Kuerten, known as Guga, won the title in 1997, 2000, and 2001. Many people got closer to the sport at that time and learned more about the importance of this French Grand Slam.

Few people know the history of the name behind the tournament, and it's not so much about sport as it is about aviation.

Roland Garros was a French aviator born in 1888. Among his entertainment were various sports such as rugby, cycling, and tennis, of which he was an enthusiast, but he never played professionally, leaving the practice only for rare moments of relaxation. His great passion was aviation. His aerial adventures began aboard the Demoiselle, ordered by Santos Dumont, in 1909. Looking for even greater thrills, he soon graduated to fly the fast Bleriot monoplanes, with which he competed in air races throughout Europe. During this period, he even visited Brazil, being the first pilot to fly over Guanabara Bay, photographing the entire landscape.

Its history began to collect records and outstanding achievements. In 1913, it crossed the Mediterranean Sea in 7 hours and 53 minutes, an astonishing feat for the time. Garros also held the record for the highest altitude, flying 5,610 meters high.

Then came the First World War. Rolland Garros soon volunteered to help France fight enemies in a fighter plane. His previous experience and courage soon led him to victory at the front. A notable achievement by Garros was also developing a system so that a machine gun could be attached to his Morane Saulnier L aircraft and fire through the propeller blades. To prevent the projectiles from hitting the blades, Garros installed fins that deflected them. His innovation resulted in three kills against German forces.

In 1915, after a severe failure of his plane, he was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany and ended up captured before he even managed to destroy his aircraft. Roland Garros was then sent to a prison camp. His plane was dismantled and handed over, along with his improvised innovation, to the person primarily responsible for German planes, designer Anthony Fokker, who used the idea to create the system that synchronized fire with the rotations of the propellers, in what can be defined as the beginning of the era of fighter aircraft.

Being imprisoned, Garros devised many escape plans but only managed to escape in February 1918, disguised as a German officer. Upon returning to the French troops, the young pilot began flying a modern Spad XIII, where he returned to combat despite the insistence and denial of officers, demanding that he undergo new training and more recovery time. His story ends on October 5, 1918, when his Spad XIII is shot down by anti-aircraft fire after shooting down a German fighter under the skies of Belgium. The next day, he would turn 30 years old. Forty days after his death, the war would end.

And how did this French hero's name become a tennis reference? In 1928, French tennis players René Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Jacques Brugnon, and Jean Borotra won the Davis Cup in Philadelphia, United States. It was necessary to build a stadium in France so that the French title could be defended. It was then that the stadium was created, and consequently, the tournament it would host was named Roland Garros in honor of the great deeds of the aviator hero "Mort pour la France.”