It is a familiar name in tennis, but paradoxically it is not a tennis name. Roland Garros is the official name of the French Open. With the exception of Louis Armstrong, most of the memorial courts at the four Grand Slam Tournaments bear the name of tennis legends. While Roland Garros played tennis… very poorly by all accounts… the stadium of the French Open bears his name for panache and heroics unrelated to tennis.
Other than the association with the French Open, The First Fighter Pilot – Roland Garros: The Life and Times of the Playboy Who Invented Air Combat , has little to do with tennis. However, it was a book that I was destined to read and review at some point. My day job is directly related to combat aviation. Additionally, the “Umpire I Gave Birth To” is a now professional pilot for a commercial airline. I read aviation books on a similar pace as ones on tennis.
Roland Garros was one of the pioneers of aviation. While he wasn’t directly involved with the invention and production of aircraft, he was an eager early adopter. At the time, there was no flight instruction or even safety regulations to speak of. Daring wealthy men purchased aircraft and then tried to learn to fly without killing themselves. Many failed to cheat death in that endeavor.
Roland Garros was an advocate for aviation as a tool to build global connection and cooperation. Ironically, he was also the first man to fly a fighter pilot mission. Until that inflection point, aircraft was used strictly for surveillance. When Garros recorded his first kills, the rubicon of combat aviation had been crossed.
After establishing himself as an ace fighter pilot, Roland Garros was shot down and spend three years in a POW camp. Maps and documents that ultimately aided his escape were smuggled to him in the hollowed out handles of… tennis racquets. Roland Garros returned to combat after his escape and was promptly killed in action. Perhaps his life would have been extended without those fateful tennis racquets.
The First Fighter Pilot contained one of the best accounts of how European tensions eventually erupted into the First World War that I have read. I could not resists seeing parallels and relevance to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The First Fighter Pilot – Roland Garros: The Life and Times of the Playboy Who Invented Air Combat, was a thoroughly entertaining and engaging read. Author Ed Cobleigh went to great pains to highlight when the pilot’s life intersected with tennis. I found myself wondering if tennis would have been mentioned at all if the stadium where the French Open is contested did not bear his name.
To be perfectly clear, this is not a tennis book. It will not make you a better player. However, it will instill a sense of history while providing a thoroughly entertaining reading experience. That should be enough. It was for me.
 | The First Fighter Pilot – Roland Garros: The Life and Times of the Playboy Who Invented Air Combat |
In the next to last paragraph, “bene” should be “been” (unless that’s some fancy French word I’m not familiar with).
Fixed. It’s been a rough week.