MAIN Recreation Sports Tennis 2010 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.

All the excitement began this year with the opening on Sunday, May 24, 2010 leading up to the men's final on Sunday, June 6.

In the U.S., the complete TV schedule was hosted by ESPN and NBC Sports, with top notch UK coverage on BBC1.

For those traveling to Paris for a live view, French Open tickets went on sale December 2009.

French Open 2010 recap

The big story in 2010 was Oh How The Might Have Fallen, with an early elimination by superstar Serena WIlliams and the rise of Francesca Schiavone of Italy as women's champion in a 2010 French Open revolution.

The once unbeatable Roger Federer also fell at the hands of Sweden's Robin Soderling of Sweden, who ultimately fell against Spain's Rafael Nadal who took the title of 'King of Clay" at Sunday's men's final.

More about the French Open around the Web:

Around the Web, check out additional news & updates, history, player profiles, and assorted French Open trivia, in this - the 2nd round of the 2010 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 - 2006 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