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From now until June 6, Eurosport will air all matches from centre court (Court Philippe Chartier) at the Roland Garros venue in Paris using new 3D technology.
Under a deal with Panasonic, the broadcast is being beamed to 3,000 Panasonic-accredited retailers throughout Europe, including sites in the UK. The feed is also being streamed directly to Orange IPTV customers in France.
Panasonic is capturing the footage using 25 of its new professional-grade 3D camcorders, which take side-by-side 3D images.
Eurosport is then broadcasting the pictures on a 12Mbps feed via the Astra 2 satellite to reach selected retail outlets in the UK on the new Eurosport Live 3D channel.
Speaking at a press event, Eurosport's technical representative Vincent Gerard-Hirne said that the firm chose a 12Mbps feed because it is the "closest to what we can deliver in reality".
He said that the 3D service is currently just for Roland Garros, but Eurosport's technical team is now "ready to make a channel".
Jacques Reynaud, Eurosport vice chairman, said that 3D at Roland Garros is "not a marketing gimmick", but a "step forward in the way people watch TV".
He said that Eurosport Live 3D would be deliverable directly to existing high definition set top boxes, just as Sky has done with its 3D channel.
However, it is understood that Eurosport presently considers 3D to be an event-led viewing experience that is not at this stage suited to a full linear channel.
The broadcaster also believes that there is still room for development in superfast HD, or Ultra HD technology, but it may forge ahead with a full launch of Eurosport Live 3D in 2011 if there is strong enough consumer demand for 3D-ready television sets.
Panasonic is using the French Open to show off its new range of 3D-ready Viera TVs, which use the active-shutter 3D glasses.
The new plasma sets are capable of delivering full HD to the left and right eye, and use Neo PDP technology to reduce cross-talk, or the somewhat jarring occurrence of "double images".
Panasonic believes that it is well placed to provide an end-to-end 3D solution, from its production cameras to the editing suites and then on to the television screens.
The firm demonstrated the French Open 3D feed on a 50 inch set, but also said that a 65 inch model is coming soon and a colossal 151 inch set will be demonstrated in September.
In terms of sales predictions, Panasonic believes that it will shift 1m 3D-ready TVs by the end of 2010, including 400,000 in Europe.
However, much will depend on the availability of 3D content, with widespread concerns about the current lack of 3D Blu-rays, TV channels and video games.
A report by Screen Digest predicts that around 40 3D TV channels will be available by the end of the year, but that includes video on-demand and ad-hoc event-led scheduling.
Eurosport's chairman and chief executive Laurent-Eric Le Lay claimed that this year's French Open will show that 3D can work for longer sporting tournaments.
He revealed that Eurosport recently filmed an equestrian event in 3D and a World Touring Car Championship round from Monza.
Le Lay said that broadcasters are still learning what works best in 3D, but he believes that the technology could ultimately grow "even faster" than HD.
Orange is using the Roland Garros broadcast to launch its dedicated 3D channel in France, which is available to ADSL and fibre broadband customers via the firm's IPTV platform.
Xavier Couture, Orange's head of content, said that the firm has also recently filmed a football League One game in 3D and a boxing match.
Orange has further "looked at" filming arts and culture events, such as the opera, ballet and a reality TV show, using 3D technology.
Despite the current paucity of 3D content, Couture is convinced that "the advent of 3D will lead to editorial innovation", which will foster "creative thinking about creating in 3D".
