Along with the US Open, the Australian Open and Wimbledon, the Roland Garros tournament has become one of the four Grand Slams in the world of tennis. Held in Paris, this competition is played on clay and its French origin has also given the trophy that the winner holds a nickname: the Musketeers Cup.
This award with which the winner of the Parisian tournament poses has become one of the most famous. The fact that tennis players who win the French Open never take home the Musketeers Cup, but rather a smaller replica, has also contributed to this fame. In fact, Rafa Nadal is, to date, the only tennis player who can boast of having one of them in his possession.
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But why does the Roland Garros trophy receive this nickname? How much does it weigh? And what is the cup made of?
The Roland Garros trophy is known as the Musketeers Cup thanks to four of the most emblematic French tennis players in the country’s history.
René Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Jean Borotra and Jacques Brugnon made up the 1927 French Davis Cup team that ended the United States’ dominance of the competition. For this reason and after chaining six consecutive titles of the tournament by countries, the French Tennis Federation decided to honor them by putting their name to the Roland Garros cup.
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The promoter of the Roland Garros trophy was the former president of the French Federation, former tennis player Philippe Chatrier, who redesigned the award during his term.
To do this, I rely on one of the most famous jewelery houses in all of France, Mellerio dits Meller, which, even today, is in charge of annually making the trophy in the form of a replica that is given to the winner of Roland Garros. They also did it in 2017 with the full-size copy of the Musketeers Cup.
Made from a moldable silver plate, Mellerio’s team spends more than 50 hours in the making of this sculpture of 21 centimeters high by 19 wide.
Decorated with tree motifs, the handles of this large goblet are swan-shaped and patterned. Despite how easy it can be to see the athletes lift it, the truth is that this trophy can weigh up to 14 kilos.
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