Jaroslav Drobný was a world No. 1 amateur tennis and ice hockey champion. He left Czechoslovakia in 1949 and travelled as an Egyptian citizen before becoming a citizen of the United Kingdom in 1959, where he died in 2001. In 1951, he became the first and, to date, only player with African citizenship to win the French Open, while doing likewise at the Wimbledon Championships in 1954. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1983. He played internationally for the Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team, and was inducted in the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.
Jaroslav Drobný (left) and Bob Mark in 1958
Jaroslav Drobný's plaque at the 1st Czech Lawn Tennis Club in Prague
Jaroslav Drobný (r), playing for Egypt, being congratulated by 18-year-old Lew Hoad (l) after Drobný's victory in the final of the 1953 Italian Championships in Rome.
The French Open, also known as Roland-Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and venue are named after the French aviator Roland Garros. The French Open is the premier clay court championship in the world and the only Grand Slam tournament currently held on this surface. It is chronologically the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments, occurring after the Australian Open and before Wimbledon and the US Open. Until 1975, the French Open was the only major tournament not played on grass. Between the seven rounds needed for a championship, the clay surface characteristics, and the best-of-five-set men's singles matches, the French Open is widely regarded as the toughest and most physically demanding tournament in tennis.
Court Philippe Chatrier during the 2013 French Open.
Composition of the courts.
Rafael Nadal holding the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2006.
Novak Djokovic, the 2023 men's singles champion. It was his record-breaking twenty-third major title and his third at the French Open.