According to the words on the walls of Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland-Garros, ‘victory belongs to the most tenacious’. And there are some tennis players whose journeys to the podium perfectly echo this sentiment: Rolex Testimonees Garbiñe Muguruza, and last year's women's singles champion, Coco Gauff. As the 2026 edition of the most prestigious clay tournament gets underway, we look back at the roads to Roland-Garros for both women—a decade after the Spaniard triumphed over Serena Williams to take her first Slam title and a year after Gauff's thrilling victory over Aryna Sabalenka—to bring us into the present day.
With Gauff preparing for a title defense and Muguruza overseeing the highest echelons of the WTA tour—as Tournament Director of the WTA Tour Finals and Co-Director of the Madrid Open—both women reflect on the powerful anniversary and what it takes to win in this temple of terre battue and lift the Suzanne-Lenglen trophy at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris.
“To me, the phrase on Philippe-Chatrier perfectly sums up my Roland-Garros last year and, overall, I think this tournament requires you to be the most tenacious out of all the Grand Slams,” says Gauff, who joined the Rolex family in 2019 and has been a force on the WTA Tour ever since. Reflecting on her success in the 2025 Roland-Garros final, after finishing runner-up to fellow Rolex Testimonee Iga Świątek in 2022, Gauff adds: “As soon as I walked out on court that day, I felt the clay hit my face with the wind and I knew it was going to be a battle. Winning the title was a really special moment for me, especially after losing the previous final which was heartbreaking. Roland-Garros is a tournament I will always cherish.”
Muguruza followed each twist and turn of Gauff’s hard-fought victory courtside.
“I was very lucky because I was there and got to see Coco play live. It was amazing to witness, it felt like I had five heart attacks during the match because you really didn’t know who the favourite was or who was going to win until the very last point. It was so competitive, so physical, so mental; it was windy, it was so difficult to play with all these conditions and the nerves of the occasion, with a Grand Slam title on the line.”
The 2026 edition of the tournament marks a decade since Muguruza both won Roland-Garros and became a Rolex Testimonee, in 2016. The Spaniard demonstrated supreme shot-making to overpower the World No. 1 at the time in straight sets. On that day, on her favoured surface, one that she had grown up playing on, and a tournament that represents the pinnacle for Spanish players, it appeared that her destiny would be paved with red clay. Muguruza retired from professional tennis in 2024.
“It means the world to me that this was my first Grand Slam win and that I have been with Rolex for nearly 10 years now. Sharing this journey, sharing the emotions, the adrenaline and the stage together has been incredible. It’s hard to explain what Roland-Garros means for someone growing up in Spain. For us, it is the tournament; it is the peak, and I think that is why I had to win this Grand Slam first.”
Timing is everything on the red clay, and the Rolex clocks have been privy to spectacular rallies and performances since the Swiss watchmaker became Official Timekeeper of Roland-Garros in 2019 and these Testimonees have displayed unyielding tenacity en route to lifting the Roland-Garros trophies. Each year, the words surrounding Court Philippe-Chatrier are a constant reminder to players teams and spectators around the world that champions rise through resilience and determination and why victory truly does belong to the most tenacious.
