French Open: Most titles at Roland Garros

It is that time of year on the ATP and WTA tours when attention turns to the Parisian clay with the French Open starting on Sunday.

The season's second Grand Slam is unlike any other, taking place on the slowest surface and demanding more endurance and stamina from its players.

Over the years only a select few have managed to dominate the Paris clay and ahead of the French Open's latest renewal, here is a look at the players with the most men's and women's titles during the Open Era.

French Open: Most Men's Titles

Rafael Nadal - 14

There is no better place to start on this list than with the undisputed 'King of Clay' himself, Rafael Nadal.

No player in history has managed to take control of the French Open as often as the Spaniard, who defeated Roger Federer en route to his first title in 2005, the first of four successive triumphs at the Grand Slam.

Nadal enjoyed more domination when winning the French Open in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, holding off challenges from the likes of Federer and Novak Djokovic, and he most recently reclaimed his 14th crown in 2022 at the age of 36.

Bjorn Borg - 6

Before Nadal, it was Bjorn Borg who dominated in Paris, winning the French Open on six occasions between 1974 and 1981.

The Swede's triumphs at the clay-court major accounted for more than half of his Grand Slam titles, with the other five coming at Wimbledon over the same period.

Mats Wilander / Ivan Lendl / Gustavo Kuerten / Novak Djokovic - 3

Next on the list of French Open titles won during the Open Era, there is a four-way tie between Mats Wilander of Sweden, Czech American Ivan Lendl, Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten and Serbian Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic is of course the most recent of those players to have won the French Open, last doing so in 2023, with Wilander and Lendl jostling for clay-court supremacy in the 1980s and Kuerten claiming two of his titles at the start of the century.

French Open: Most Women's Titles

Chris Evert - 7

Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, American Chris Evert won 18 major titles throughout her career and it was testament to her versatility that she won each of the four Grand Slams at least twice.

But it was at Roland Garros where she was most successful, winning the French Open seven times between 1974 and 1986.

Four of those titles were won with Evert beating nemesis Martina Navratilova in the final, including her last two French Opens.

Steffi Graf - 6

German legend Steffi Graf won an eye-watering 22 Grand Slam titles throughout her career and they were pretty evenly spread across the four majors.

Indeed, Graf is the only player, male or female, to have won each of the Grand Slams on four occasions - a quadruple career Grand Slam - and she was unfazed by the French Open's slower surface.

She enjoyed a particularly successful spell during the 1990s, winning the Paris major in 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1999.

Justine Henin - 4

Known for her killer one-handed backhand, Belgian Justine Henin saved her best performances for the French Open, which she won in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

She won three other Grand Slams in her career - the US Open twice and the Australian Open once - but it was in Paris where she really came into her own.

Iga Swiatek - 4

The most recent addition to this list, Polish sensation Iga Swiatek had not won the French Open before 2020.

But after that triumph - her first Grand Slam win - she has made the French Open her own, winning it again in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Swiatek can excel on all courts but it is clear she is most comfortable on clay and, while she has had an underwhelming start to this season, the three-time defending champion can never be written off at Roland Garros.