Rolex Returns to Roland Garros 2026
Geneva – The world’s leading tennis players return to Stade Roland-Garros in Paris next week for the second Grand Slam® tournament of 2026, aiming to emulate last year’s champions by creating their own piece of history. It was on this stage 12 months ago that Coco Gauff claimed her first Roland-Garros singles title after a hard-fought journey through the draw. On Court Philippe-Chatrier the following day, fellow Rolex Testimonees Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner contested the longest final in the history of the event in 5 hours and 29 minutes. Gauff will attempt to retain her crown from Sunday 24 May to Sunday 7 June, and with Alcaraz unable to defend his men’s singles title due to injury, his great rival and the World No. 1 Sinner will seek a first-ever Roland-Garros win to complete the career Grand Slam®.
A finalist in Rome last week, Gauff discusses the unique challenge that lies ahead: “The clay at Roland-Garros is like no other surface. You have to practice like you’re going to win every single match by a point or two. I’m looking forward to making the adjustments to my game, sliding around and going for those crazy shots. I often find that at the start of Roland-Garros the clay is a little bit rough for me, but I feel like I always find my way in Paris.” Watching Gauff’s remarkable victory courtside was former champion, Garbiñe Muguruza. This year marks a decade since the Spaniard won her first of two Grand Slam® titles at Roland-Garros and joined the Rolex family. Having retired from professional tennis in 2024, Muguruza continues to be closely involved with the game, through her roles as Co-Director of the Mutua Madrid Open and Tournament Director of the WTA Finals. Muguruza reflects on her career-defining moment in 2016:
“Winning that tournament meant so much. It was Roland-Garros, it was my first Grand Slam title and I played one of my idols in the final so it had triple value for me. Suddenly it all clicked. I had just become a Grand Slam champion and then I became a Rolex Testimonee. I kept asking myself, ‘Is this really happening?’ Afterwards I had my Daytona watch engraved with ‘Paris in my heart, 2016’. It has been an amazing journey.”
With roots dating back to 1891, Roland-Garros is one of the sport’s greatest physical and technical tests, demanding precision, perseverance and endurance throughout the fortnight of action. The Rolex clocks have kept time on many exceptional performances since the Swiss watchmaker became Official Timekeeper of the tournament in 2019 and this year’s competition is bound to deliver yet more from the family of Testimonees, who have built up considerable momentum in the clay-court return to Roland-Garros aiming to make their mark on tennis history season.
Sinner’s fine form saw him triumph in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome, becoming the first man to win six consecutive ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. Four-time Roland-Garros champion Iga ?wi?tek progressed to the semi-finals in Rome, Mirra Andreeva reached the final in Madrid and Ben Shelton captured his first ATP 500 clay-court title in Munich. Making a welcome return is Qinwen Zheng, entering the main draw alongside Belinda Bencic, João Fonseca, Taylor Fritz, Victoria Mboko and Stéfanos Tsitsipás. Sinner, a four-time Grand Slam® champion who at age 24 is now the youngest player to have conquered all nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, discusses his approach going into Roland-Garros:
“As always, I will work hard together with my team to arrive in Paris in the best form possible. I’ll take it step by step, round by round, without thinking about winning the title. It’s a long way to the Roland-Garros final, so we’ll focus on our preparation and then take it match by match, hoping to go as far as we can.” The words ‘victory belongs to the most tenacious’ surround Court Philippe-Chatrier and they certainly ring true when considering the achievements of many Rolex Testimonees on the red clay. Timing and tenacity are key to mastering Roland-Garros, and last year’s extraordinary contests serve as a powerful reminder that champions rise through resilience and determination at this Grand Slam® tournament.
ROLEX TESTIMONEES WHO HAVE WON ROLAND-GARROS
Rod Laver (1962, 1969)
Björn Borg (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981)
Chris Evert (1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986)
Jim Courier (1991, 1992)
Justine Henin (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Ana Ivanovi? (2008)
Roger Federer (2009)
Li Na (2011)
Garbine Muguruza (2016)
Iga Swiatek (2020, 2022, 2023, 2024)
Carlos Alcaraz (2024, 2025)
