The French Open is the only grand slam played on the clay surface. The first French Open was held in 1891. The trophies awarded to the French Open winners are named in honor of famous French tennis players of the past.

French Open Trophies

Musketeers’ Cup – Men’s Singles 

The men’s singles winner gets the Musketeers’ cup, a silver bowl that’s mounted on a marble base.  The bowl is bordered with vine leaves at the top and features two swan-shaped handles.

The cup is a tribute to the four musketeers of French tennis – Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet, and René Lacoste.

Jean Borotra was a dominant French tennis player in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He won four grand slam titles in his career.

Jacques Brugnon was a good singles player but most of his success came in doubles. He won 10 grand slam doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles partnering with Suzanne Lenglen.

Henri Cochet won 22 grand slam titles, including seven in singles.

René Lacoste won seven singles grand slam titles. He was nicknamed, “the crocodile” because of how he handled his opponents. He was also a successful businessman later in life. In 1933, he founded the clothing company, Lacoste with his partner, André Gillier. The company’s logo was a green crocodile. 

Musketeers’ cup has been the official men’s winner’s trophy since 1981. The names of the winners since 1891, the year the first French Open was held, are inscribed in the marble base.

Suzanne-Lenglen Cup – Women’s Singles

Suzanne-Lenglen cup has been given to the women’s singles champion since 1979. The cup is a replica of the cup given to Suzanne Lenglen by the City of Nice with a few minor variations.

Suzanne Lenglen was a six-time champion at Roland Garros. She won eight grand slam singles titles and 13 grand slam doubles titles. Her balletic playing style and cheerful personality made her a national icon in France. The second show court at Roland Garros is named the Court Suzanne-Lenglen in her honor.

Jacques-Brugnon Cup –  Men’s Doubles

Jacques-Brugnon cup is awarded to doubles winner. It is named after Jacques-Brugnon, a doubles specialist, and one of the four musketeers.

The trophy was created in 1989 and is designed with appliques. The base has a fluting with repetitive ornaments in relief

Simonne-Mathieu Cup – Women’s Doubles

Simonne-Mathieu cup has been awarded to the women doubles winners since 1990. The trophy has two small handles in the form of swans and features leaf moldings.

Simonne-Mathieu won 13 grand slam titles in her career, including 11 doubles. In November 2017, Roland Garros named the third show court as Court Simonne-Mathieu in her honor.

Marcel-Bernard cup – Mixed Doubles

Marcel-Bernard cup has been awarded to Roland Garros mixed doubles champions since 1990. The oval trophy features turned and inserted moldings, a carved frieze, and two handles. The base includes two turned moldings.

Marcel-Bernard was the president of the French tennis federation from 1968 to 1973. He won the Roland Garros title in 1946. He also reached the French Open semifinals three times in his career. 

Do players get to take the trophy home?

Just like all other grand slams, players don’t get to take the trophies home. They are only given smaller replicas of the original trophy.

Life is not all about tennis for Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian tennis is set to take his high school exams on June 21. As a result, he will miss the grass-court warm-up tournaments before Wimbledon.

Musetti will travel to Wimbledon in a commercial airliner. His travel plans introduce the risk of Musetti having to quarantine even if a single passenger test positive for COVID-19.

Italian media reports indicated that Novak Djokovic has offered Musetti a ride to Wimbledon in his private but the plans were canceled due to logistical reasons.

Many tennis players skip high school to focus on tennis. But Italian athletes tend to take high school exams due to the country’s rigid education system.

Musetti, a former junior world number 1, has made great progress on the ATP Tour in a short time. He is one of the youngest players in the Top 100 rankings.