The 2006 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France from 28 May to 11 June 2006. It was the 110th staging of the French Open, and the second of the four Grand Slam tennis events of 2006. This edition made history as it became the first Grand Slam tournament to start on a Sunday. It was the 2nd time since 1985 that all top 4 seeds reached the semifinals in the men's singles of a Grand Slam tournament. This did not happen again until the same tournament five years later. Both defending champions, Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin-Hardenne, retained their titles.

A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis is played. Clay courts are built on a foundation of crushed stone, brick, shale, and other aggregate, with a thin layer of fine clay particles on top. Clay courts are more common in Continental Europe and Latin America than in North America, Asia-Pacific or Britain. The only Grand Slam tournament that uses clay courts is the French Open.