MAIN Recreation Sports Tennis 2012 Roland Garros

Less-than-optimum traction on the red clay surface (that also gives the ball its extra bounce) can be a special challenge for top professionals at Roland Garros stadium in Paris - the traditional home of the French Open.

As a result, it's the hottest ticket in tennis as major players come to show their mettle in one of the toughest Grand Slam challenges of the year.

Coming up, all the excitement begins this year with the opening on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 leading up to the men's final on Sunday, June 10.

For those traveling to Paris for a live view, French Open tickets go on sale online in December 2011 at the official Roland Garros site. Only tickets for the qualifying matches can be purchased at the stadium entrance.

In the U.S., the complete TV schedule for the 111th edition of the French Open is hosted by ESPN, NBC Sports, and the Tennis Channel with top notch UK coverage on BBC1.

In the US, the women's final will be televised on Saturday, June 9, on NBC from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and the men's final will be on Sunday, June 10, on NBC from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

More about the French Open around the Web:

Around the Web, check out updates, history, player profiles, and assorted French Open trivia, in this - the 2nd round of the 2012 Big Four Grand Slam championships...

Roland Garros - Grand Slam Tennis - The game's official site sponsored by IBM with a traditional showcase of breaking updates and photos, audio feeds and video clips, online ticket purchase and information, feature stories, interviews, schedules and scores. In French, Spanish and English.

Yahoo! Tennis - Who's in and who's out, with all the latest headline news, pictures, opinion, schedule and results, and lists of how they rank.

Slam! Sports Tennis - French Open - Keeping up to date with the latest news as it happens with news highlights daily.

BBC Sport Academy | What It's Like to Play on Clay - In short, it ain't easy...with links to more descriptions of playing conditions at other major venues in the Grand Slam of tennis. And while you're here don't miss the BBC's look at French Open History.

French Open - Wikipedia - The free online encyclopedia with historical color commentary and info on men's and women's singles champions from 1925 to the present, plus more on the Australian Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon.

Tennis-Heroes.net - 190 photos of French Open champions of the past and present including vital stats, scores and trivia.

also see ->> Australian Open | U.S. Open | Wimbledon

also see -> Roger Federer | Lleyton Hewitt | Rafael Nadal

Andy Roddick | Marat Safin | Maria Sharapova

Serena Williams | Venus Williams