What is the difference between the French Open and Wimbledon?
Facts checked November 2, 2026 by the French Open Insider editorial team
Short answer
The French Open, or Roland-Garros, is played on clay in Paris from late May; Wimbledon is played on grass from late June. Wimbledon is older (1877, against 1891) and requires players to wear white. In 2026 Roland-Garros kept human line judges while the other Slams used electronic line calling. Both settle a final set at 6-6 with a 10-point tie-break.
How do the French Open and Wimbledon compare?
The two are close in the calendar: in 2026 Wimbledon began about three weeks after the men's final in Paris. Roland-Garros 2027 runs from May 17 (qualifying) to June 6, with the main draw from Sunday May 23.
| French Open (Roland-Garros) | Wimbledon | |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Red clay | Grass |
| First held | 1891 (international from 1925) | 1877 |
| 2026 main draw | May 24 to June 7 | June 29 to July 12 |
| Public tickets | Registration and random draw | Public ballot (since 1924), plus the Queue for same-day tickets |
| Player clothing | No all-white rule; players wear colors | All-white or almost all-white |
| Line calling | Human line judges | Electronic |
| Final set at 6-6 | 10-point tie-break (since 2022) | 10-point tie-break (since 2022) |
| Total prize money | €61,723,000 | £64,200,000 |
| Each singles champion | €2,800,000 | £3,600,000 |
| Singles champions | Alexander Zverev, Mirra Andreeva | Jannik Sinner, Linda Noskova |
Why does the surface make such a difference?
Clay is the slowest court surface. Its fine top layer slows the ball and makes it bounce higher than on grass or hard courts, so points tend to be longer, consistent baseline players do well, and players slide into their shots.
The French Open has been the only Grand Slam on clay since 1978, and Wimbledon is the only one on grass; the Australian Open and US Open are on hard courts. How the Paris courts are built is in the clay court surface guide.
How are tickets sold for each?
Wimbledon sells most Centre Court and show court tickets through a public ballot, a system it has used since 1924, and fans can also join the Queue for same-day tickets.
Roland-Garros switched to a registration-based draw for the 2025 edition. For 2026, sign-up ran from December 3 to 17, 2025, a judicial officer supervised the draw, and selected entrants were emailed from mid-February 2026 with a purchase slot. Roland-Garros publishes its 2027 sale dates on tickets.rolandgarros.com; they had not been announced by November 2, 2026. The steps are in how to buy French Open tickets.
Do the rules differ?
The scoring is now the same. Since 2022 all four majors settle a final set at six games all with a 10-point tie-break, first to 10 with a two-point margin. Before that, Roland-Garros had no final-set tie-break and Wimbledon played a 7-point tie-break at 12-12. The tiebreak rules guide has the history.
Two visible differences remain: the all-white rule at Wimbledon, and human line judges at Roland-Garros in 2026. In Paris, two courts have retractable roofs, Philippe-Chatrier (since 2020) and Suzanne-Lenglen (since 2024); see does Roland-Garros have a roof.
People also ask
Is the French Open the hardest Grand Slam to win?
Many players say so, though it cannot be measured. It is widely regarded as the most physically demanding tournament, because clay favors long rallies and a men's champion needs seven best-of-five-set wins. Novak Djokovic said in 2022 that winning there was "always probably the hardest of any slam for me", and his long-time coach Marian Vajda called it "the toughest Grand Slam in the history" in 2021. In 2026, 20 men's matches lasted four hours or more in the first three rounds, the most at any Slam since 1999.
Which is the only Grand Slam still played on grass?
Wimbledon. The Australian Open and the US Open are played on hard courts, and the French Open is the only Grand Slam on clay.
Which pays more, the French Open or Wimbledon?
In 2026 Wimbledon paid each singles champion £3,600,000 and Roland-Garros paid €2,800,000. The currencies differ, so the gap depends on the exchange rate on the day you compare.