Wimbledon, also known as The Championships, Wimbledon; is the oldest tennis tournament as well as the most prestigious one in the world. Wimbledon is held in late June and early July every year at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London suburb of Wimbledon. Since its inception in 1877, Wimbledon has grown from a garden-party tournament to one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world, with millions of followers around the world.

It is the only tournament which is played on the game’s original surface, grass, and this is what gave the game of lawn tennis its name. Similar to other Grand Slams, there are men’s and women’s singles competitions, men’s and women’s doubles, mixed doubles, juniors, wheelchair, legends and exhibition matches. Eating strawberries and cream, drinking Pimms spritzers, royal patronage and a strict dress code involving whites are some of the Wimbledon traditions.

In 2009, the Center Court of Wimbledon was fitted with a retractable roof, which ensures that the match goes on even during rains. This roof was used for the first time at a special event on 17 May in presence of a capacity crowd of 15,000. Legends like Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters played under the covered roof for the first time.

Wimbledon Facts –

Venue - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon
Surface – Grass/ Outdoor
Official Ball – Slazenger
Gentlemen’s Singles – 128 players
Ladies’ Singles – 128 players
Gentlemen’s Doubles – 64 pairs
Ladies’ Doubles – 64 pairs
Mixed Doubles – 48 pairs
Trophies –
Ladies’ Singles
Venus Rosewater Dish
Silver Cups are presented to the winner’s of Gentlemen's Doubles, Ladies' Doubles, and Mixed Doubles events.
Courts – There are 19 courts used in Wimbledon, made purely of rye grass, with Centre Court and Court 1 being the main ones.
Club – Besides holding Championships, this is a club with 375 full members and a number of honorary members.

Grass renovation of the Centre Court and Court No.1 starts immediately after the Championships end and the renovation for the rest of the courts start in August or September.  After the Championships get over, around 750 tonnes of waste is recovered which is then recycled by the Materials Reclamation Facility (MRF).

In 2009, Roger Federer won the men’s singles title whereas Serena Williams won the women’s singles title. Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic won the men’s doubles title; Venus and Serena Williams won the women’s doubles title; Mark Knowles and Anna-Lena Gronefeld won the mixed doubles title.

French Open, also called as Roland Garros is the second Grand Slam of the year; which is held over 2 weeks between late May and early June. The tournament is held in Paris, France at the Stade Roland Garros. This was the first Grand Slam tournament to join the “Open” era which started in 1968 and since then many greats have played in this premier clay court tennis tournament in the world.

Similar to other Grand Slams, there are men’s and women’s singles competitions, men’s and women’s doubles, mixed doubles, juniors, wheelchair, legends and exhibition matches. The tournament was a grass court tournament from 1891 to 1927 when it was held in Stade Français and since then it is a clay court tournament. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam which is still held on clay court and with its end, the clay court season terminates. It is one of the most prestigious as well as physically demanding tournaments in the world. The tournament has the widest worldwide broadcasting and audience of all regular events in tennis.

There are two major courts for the tournament- Court Philippe Chatrier and CourtSuzanne Lenglen.

The technique of playing on clay court is altogether different, as it is a slow surface. Clay courts slow down the pace of the ball and produce a high bounce as compared to grass courts or hard courts. The five set matches for men’s singles in this tournament extend to large durations with the last set without a tie-break. This makes Roland Garros the most grueling tournament in the world.

French Open Facts –

Venue - Stade Roland Garros
Surface – Red Clay
Men’s Singles – 128 players
Women’s Singles – 128 players
Women’s Doubles – 64 pairs
Men’s Doubles – 64 pairs
Trophies –
Women’s Singles
Coupe Suzanne Lenglen
Men’s Singles
Musketeers' Cup, named in honor of the Four Musketeers (tennis players Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and René Lacoste).
Men's Doubles trophy
Coupe Jacques Brugnon
Women's Doubles trophy
Coupe Simone Mathieu
Mixed Doubles trophy
Coupe Marcel Bernard

The winners receive a replica of the trophy. Pure silver replicas of the trophies are fabricated and engraved by Maison Mellerio of Paris. The winner’s name is emblazoned on the plate holding the trophy.
In 2009, Roger Federer won the men’s singles title whereas Svetlana Kuznetsova won the women’s singles title. Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes won the men’s doubles title; Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual won the women’s doubles title; Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan won the mixed doubles title.

Australian Open- The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific is the first of the four Grand Slams tennis tournaments held every year. Australian Open is held in January each year in Melbourne park. The 2012 Australian Open will mark the 100th staging of the event. The tournament was a grass court tournament until 1987 and since 1988 the tournament has been held on hard courts at Melbourne Park.

Similar to other Grand Slams, there are men’s and women’s singles competitions, men’s and women’s doubles, mixed doubles, juniors, wheelchair, legends and exhibition matches. There are two main courts used in the Australian Open – The Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena. Australian Open takes place in the middle of Australian summer and thus, the temperatures are very high. The two arenas feature retractable roofs which are shut owing to extreme heat or rain. The Australian Open and the Wimbledon are the only Grand Slams which provide indoor play facility.

The Australian Open has always had very high attendances, with the 2010 Australian Open marking the highest attendance ever in a single day for any Grand Slam. The attendance was 77,043 whereas the overall attendance throughout the tournament was 653,860.

Australian Open 2010 Facts –

Venue – Melbourne Park
Surface – Plexicushion Prestige
Official Ball – Wilson
Tournament Director - Craig Tiley
Tournament Referee - Wayne McKewen
Men’s Singles – 128 players (104 direct entries based on ATP rankings, 16 qualifiers and 8 wild cards)
Women’s Singles – 128 players (108 direct entries based on rankings, 12 qualifiers and 8 wild cards)
Mixed Doubles – 32 pairs (upto 7 maybe wild cards)
Women’s Doubles – 64 pairs (upto 7 maybe wild cards)
Men’s Doubles – 64 pairs (upto 7 maybe wild cards)
Trophies –
Women’s Singles
Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup
Australian Women's Singles Championship
Donated by the NSW Lawn Tennis Association

Men’s Singles
The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup
Singles Championship of Australia
Presented by the friends of Mr. Norman E. Brookes and State Lawn Tennis Associations
Mats Wilander is the only male player who won the Australian Open tournament on grass as well as hard court. In 2010, Roger Federer won the men’s singles title whereas Serena Williams won the women’s singles title. Bob and Mike Bryan won the men’s doubles title; Venus and Serena Williams won the women’s doubles title; Cara Black and Leander Paes won the mixed doubles title.