In 1897, the first edition of the Roland Garros Women’s Singles event took place.
The first event, then called the ‘French Championships,’ was won by French player Adine Masson – who went on to win the title five times.
The event was a ‘French club members only tournament’ until 1925, when Suzanne Lenglen – of France – defeated Great Britain’s Kitty McKane Godfree to win the title.
Who will win the Roland Garros Women’s Singles title?
In 1927, The Netherlands’ Kea Bouman became the first non-French player to win the women’s singles title.
A year later, an American won the French Championships for the first time in tournament history.
Helen Wills was the first American player to win Roland Garros
In 1931, Helen Wills became the second non-French player to win the French Championships.
Wills, from Centerville in California, began the event by knocking out home favourite ‘Marcou,’ comfortably winning 6-0, 6-2.
She then defeated Germany’s Cilly Aussem 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the quarter-finals.
Madzy Rollin Couquerque was the next to fall at the hands of Wills, losing 6-2, 6-0.
In the semi-finals, Wills continued her dominance, defeating Great Britain’s Cristobel Hardie 6-1, 6-1; setting up a final with British eighth seed Eileen Bennett.
Wills’ incredible form continued to blossom in the final. The American defeated Bennett 6-1, 6-2.
The triumph represented Wills’ sixth triumph in Grand Slam singles events.
Remarkably, Wills lost only 12 games through five matches at the event.
Wills went on to win a stunning 31 major titles across all formats, the last being the women’s singles event at the 1938 Wimbledon Championships.
Who is the most shocking Grand Slam champion ever?
You never know what might happen…
Helen Wills’ 31 Grand Slam titles
Helen Wills won her first Grand Slam title in 1922. Paired with Marion Zinderstein, Wills defeated Edith Sigourney and Molla Mallory 6–4, 7–9, 6–3 in the US Open [then US National Championships] Women’s Doubles final.
Wills went on to capture 31 Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
She won her final Grand Slam title at the 1938 Wimbledon Championships. Wills, the number one seed, defeated Helen Jacobs 6-4, 6-0 to win the title in London.
| French Open | 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon | 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1938 |
| US Open | 1923, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931 |
Despite winning 31 major titles, Wills achieved quite possibly an even greater feat during her career.
Between 1927 and 1933, Wills won 180 consecutive matches.
She also held the record for the most Wimbledon Women’s Singles title wins [eight] until Martina Navratilova won her ninth in 1990.
