The 1972 French Open was a

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

tournament that took place on the outdoor

clay court A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate depending on the tournament. T ...

s at the

Stade Roland Garros Stade Roland Garros (; "Roland Garros Stadium") is a complex of tennis courts, including stadiums, located in Paris that hosts the French Open. That tournament, also known as ''Roland Garros'', is a Grand Slam tennis championship played annuall ...

in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 22 May until 4 June. It was the 76th staging of the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), 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 v ...

, and the second

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

tennis event of 1972.

Andrés Gimeno Andrés Gimeno Tolaguera (3 August 1937 – 9 October 2019) was a Spanish tennis player. His greatest achievement came in 1972, when he won the French Open and became the oldest first-time Grand Slam champion in the Open era at 34 years of age. ...

and

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United State ...

won the singles titles.

Finals

Men's singles

defeated

Patrick Proisy Patrick Proisy (born 10 September 1949) is a French former professional tennis player best remembered for reaching the final of the French Open in 1972 (where he beat top seed and defending champion Jan Kodeš in the quarter-finals and fourth se ...

, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 6–1 :• It was Gimeno's 1st and only career Grand Slam singles title.

Women's singles

defeated

Evonne Goolagong Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley (née Goolagong; born 31 July 1951) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. Goolagong was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. At the age of 19, she won the French Open singl ...

, 6–3, 6–3 :• It was King's seventh career Grand Slam singles title, her third in the Open Era and her first and only title at the French Open.

Men's doubles

Bob Hewitt Robert Anthony John Hewitt (born 12 January 1940) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. In 1967, after marrying a South African, he became a South African citizen. He has won 15 major titles and a career Grand Slam in both men ...

Frew McMillan Frew Donald McMillan (born 20 May 1942) is a former professional male tennis player from South Africa who won five grand slam doubles titles including three Wimbledons with Bob Hewitt. All together, he won 63 doubles titles, surpassed only by ...

defeated

Patricio Cornejo Patricio Cornejo Seckel (; born 6 June 1944) is a retired Chilean professional tennis player of the 1970s. He competed at the 1975 Davis Cup with Jaime Fillol and played the longest Davis Cup rubber in terms of games, eventually losing to Stan S ...

Jaime Fillol Jaime José Fillol Durán (born 3 June 1946), known professionally as Jaime Fillol Sr., is a retired professional tennis player from Chile, who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Fillol was ranked as high as world No. 14 in singles on the ...

, 6–3, 8–6, 3–6, 6–1 :• It was Hewitt's 6th career Grand Slam doubles title, his 1st in the Open Era and his 1st and only title at the French Open. :• It was McMillan's 3rd career Grand Slam doubles title, his 1st in the Open Era and his 1st and only title at the French Open.

Women's doubles

Betty Stöve Betty Flippina Stöve (born 24 June 1945) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. She is best remembered for reaching the ladies' singles final, the ladies' doubles final and the mixed doubles final during the same year at Wimbledon in 19 ...

defeated

Winnie Shaw Winifred Mason Shaw (later Mrs. Wooldridge) (18 January 1947 – 30 March 1992) was a professional tennis player from Scotland whose career ran from the mid-1960s until the early 70s. In 2002, she posthumously was inducted into the Scottish S ...

Nell Truman Frances Ellen 'Nell' Truman Robinson (12 December 1945 – 8 April 2012), was a female tennis player from the United Kingdom who was active in the 1960s and early 1970s and was mainly known for her performance as a doubles player. Nell Truman was ...

, 6–1, 6–2 :• It was King's 10th career Grand Slam doubles title, her 4th in the Open Era and her 1st and only title at the French Open. :• It was Stöve's 1st career Grand Slam doubles title and her 1st title at the French Open.

Mixed doubles

Kim Warwick Kim Warwick (born 8 April 1952) is an Australian former professional male tennis player who competed on the ATP Tour from 1970–1987, reaching the singles final of the Australian Open in 1980. He defeated over 35 players ranked in the top ten ...

defeated

Françoise Dürr Françoise Dürr (born 25 December 1942; sometimes referred to by English writers as Frankie Durr) is a retired French tennis player. She won 50 singles titles and over 60 doubles titles. According to Lance Tingay, Bud Collins, and the Wom ...

Jean-Claude Barclay Jean-Claude Barclay (born 30 December 1942) is a former French international tennis player. He competed in the Davis Cup a number of times, from 1962 to 1963.French Open official website

ATP – tournament profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:French Open, 1972 1972 Grand Prix (tennis) 1972 in French tennis 1972 in Paris