Tennis is my game! I love playing and watching matches. In fact, growing up, I played competitive junior USTA tennis and even managed to become a ranked player. Shout-out to my mom—who not only loved the sport but also coached college tennis and dedicated a tremendous amount of her time to my success. A lot of what I know about the game, the discipline behind it, and even how I watch the sport today comes straight from her.

Knowing the game well and having been to the French Open many times, I’ve come to appreciate that Roland Garros is about far more than tennis alone. It’s atmosphere, ritual, style, and the unmistakable rhythm of Paris in early summer.

Here are five things I love most about it.

Clay courts

There is simply nothing more beautiful in tennis than red clay.

The color alone—the deep rust against crisp white lines—feels cinematic. But beyond aesthetics, clay creates a completely different style of tennis. The points are longer, movement is more physical, and matches become strategic battles of endurance and patience. You hear the scrape of players sliding into shots. You see the construction of points unfold slowly and intelligently. Clay rewards discipline in a way grass or hard courts do not.

Even after years of watching professional tennis, I still find clay-court tennis the most compelling version of the game.

Tennis attire

There’s something about the setting—the Parisian backdrop, the impending summer, the elegance of the grounds near Bois de Boulogne—that encourages people to dress beautifully without looking overdone.

You’ll see:

• classic cardigans layered over polos or crisp collared shirts
• linen trousers or long skirts
• straw hats or sporty sun visors
• chic bags and oversized sunglasses
• perfectly worn white sneakers, pretty ballet flats, or sleek sandals

And naturally, there’s a touch of Lacoste everywhere—the unofficial uniform of French tennis style. Then, of course, there are the players themselves. Tennis attire on clay courts just looks better! It’s sporty, polished, and distinctly French.

The camaraderie of the crowd

One of the things I love about the French Open is the atmosphere among the crowd—it’s naturally friendly, but never forced.

I think part of it comes from the fact that people who love watching tennis also tend to love playing tennis. There’s a shared understanding of how complex the sport really is—not just physically, but mentally. Tennis is a game of momentum, discipline, emotional control, and you feel that in the way people watch the game.

People rarely speak during matches. Instead, there’s a quieter kind of engagement—almost a shared restraint. During tense matches, you’ll catch a whispered comment between points: Il est frustré, or a simple read like Il est fatigué là, or Il craque un peu—small acknowledgments of what everyone is already sensing. These real-time observations are part of the shared experience as the mental battle unfolds point by point.

You can bring your own food

This may sound minor, but it’s one of my favorite practical details about Roland Garros. You can bring your own food and non-alcoholic drinks into the grounds (as long as it fits in a bag under a 15-liter capacity), which completely changes the rhythm of the day. A simple picnic-style lunch, a bottle of water, some fruit or snacks—and suddenly you’re free to wander from court to court without feeling tied to concession lines or meal schedules.

Of course, there are wonderful things to eat on-site as well, but I love the flexibility this gives you. It makes the day feel relaxed and civilized rather than overly commercial.

Honestly, it’s very French.

The Parisian vibe

The French Open doesn’t feel isolated from Paris—it feels woven into the city’s rhythm. The tournament arrives just as Paris begins fully opening itself to summer.

Located at Porte d’Auteuil on the edge of the 16th arrondissement, the stadium is tucked into a quiet, elegant corner of the city—but you’re still very aware you’re in Paris. From certain points on site, you can even catch distant views of the Eiffel Tower. It’s subtle, but it’s there—a reminder that the city is always just beyond the clay courts.

And the connection doesn’t stop at the gates. Across Paris, the tournament spills into public life. At Tribune Concorde, crowds gather to watch matches together in a more communal, open-air setting, right in the heart of the city’. At the same time, the big-screen broadcast on the roof of Galeries Lafayette turns one of Paris’s most iconic shopping destinations into a shared viewing party.

There’s an elegance to the entire experience that goes beyond tennis.

And perhaps that’s why I love it so much. Roland Garros captures not only the beauty of sport, but the feeling of Paris moving in sync with it—city and tournament unfolding together in the same rhythm.