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Mary Pierce
Singles
Mary Pierce, 2001
Country (sports)	France
Residence	Rivière Noire, Mauritius
Born	(1975-01-15) 15 January 1975 (age 50) Montreal, Canada
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro	March 1989
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$9,793,119
Int. Tennis HoF	2019 (member page)
Career record	511–237 (68.32%)
Career titles	18
Highest ranking	No. 3 (30 January 1995)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (1995)
French Open	W (2000)
Wimbledon	QF (1996, 2005)
US Open	F (2005)
Other tournaments
Grand Slam Cup	QF (1999)
Tour Finals	F (1997, 2005)
Olympic Games	QF (2004)
Doubles
Career record	197–116
Career titles	10
Highest ranking	No. 3 (10 July 2000)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	F (2000)
French Open	W (2000)
Wimbledon	3R (2002, 2004)
US Open	SF (1999)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	2R (1996, 2004)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	1
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	1R (1993)
French Open	QF (1990, 1992)
Wimbledon	W (2005)
US Open	SF (1995)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	W (1997, 2003)
Hopman Cup	F (1998)

Mary Caroline Pierce (born January 15, 1975) is a French former professional tennis player. She was once ranked as high as No. 3 in the world for singles. This happened on January 30, 1995. She also reached world No. 3 in doubles on July 10, 2000.

Mary Pierce won 18 singles titles during her career. This includes two major Grand Slam tournaments. She won the 1995 Australian Open and the 2000 French Open. She also reached the finals of four other major singles tournaments. She is the most recent French woman to win the French Open singles title.

She also won 10 doubles titles. This includes two major titles in 2000. She won the French Open in women's doubles with Martina Hingis. She also won the 2005 Wimbledon Championships in mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi. Mary Pierce was added to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2019.

About Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce's Tennis Career
Mary Pierce's Playing Style
Equipment
Career Statistics
Images for kids
See also

About Mary Pierce

Mary Pierce was born in Montreal, Canada. Her mother is French and her father is American. This meant Mary could be a citizen of all three countries. She grew up in the United States. However, she played for France in international tennis matches. She speaks both English and French very well. As of 2019, she lives in Mauritius.

Mary Pierce is a born again Christian. She has spoken about how her faith changed her life. She felt "empty and miserable" after a loss in 2000. Then she "gave my life to Jesus and was born again." She said "things in me changed instantly."

Mary Pierce's Tennis Career

Starting Out in Tennis

Mary Pierce began playing tennis when she was ten years old. Just two years later, she was ranked No. 2 in the country for girls aged 12 and under. In April 1989, she made her professional debut at a WTA tournament. She was only 14 years and 2 months old at the time. This made her one of the youngest American players to turn pro.

Because of her strong body and powerful playing style, she was known for hitting the ball very hard. She quickly became known as one of the hardest hitters in women's tennis. Her father became her coach for many years. She won her first singles tournament in July 1991 in Palermo, Italy.

Grand Slam Success

In July 1993, Mary Pierce had some challenges with her father as her coach. The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) even created a rule, sometimes called the "Jim Pierce rule." This rule made it possible to ban parents or coaches from tournaments if they behaved badly. After this, Mary was coached by Nick Bollettieri. Her brother David also coached her until 2006.

Mary reached her first Grand Slam singles final at the 1994 French Open. She played incredibly well, beating world No. 1, Steffi Graf, in the semifinals. However, she lost in the final to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.

The next year, Mary won her first Grand Slam title. She defeated Sánchez Vicario again in the final of the 1995 Australian Open. She became the first Canadian-born tennis player to win a singles Grand Slam. This win helped her reach her highest singles ranking of world No. 3. She also won the Japan Open that year.

Mary faced some tough times in 1996. She didn't defend her title at the Australian Open. But she did reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time.

In 1997, Mary was back in the Australian Open singles final. She lost to Martina Hingis. She also reached the final of the WTA Tour Championships. Mary was part of the French team that won the 1997 Fed Cup. She won the Italian Open that year. She was given the Comeback Player of the Year award.

She won four titles in 1998. These included events in Paris, Amelia Island, Moscow, and Luxembourg.

Mary won her second Grand Slam singles title at the 2000 French Open. She beat Conchita Martínez in the final. This made her the first French woman to win the title since 1967. She also won the women's doubles title at the French Open with Martina Hingis. Mary helped France win the Fed Cup again in 2003.

Later Career and Injuries

After a few quieter years, Mary won a title in 2004 at the Rosmalen Open. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, she beat Venus Williams. She then lost to Justine Henin in the quarterfinals. At the US Open, she defeated Maria Sharapova.

In 2005, Mary made a big comeback. She reached the French Open singles final for the third time. She lost to Justine Henin. She also reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals again. Mary won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon with Mahesh Bhupathi. In August, she won the Acura Classic in San Diego.

At the US Open, Mary beat Justine Henin for the first time. She then defeated Amélie Mauresmo to reach her first US Open semifinal. She said, "I'm 30 and I have been on the tour for 17 years and there are still firsts for me. That's pretty amazing." She reached the final but lost to Kim Clijsters. Mary then won her second title of the year at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. She had an amazing comeback in one match, winning after being down six match points.

Her great year in 2005 helped her finish as world No. 5. This was a big jump from No. 29 at the start of the year. Her success even encouraged former world No. 1, Martina Hingis, to return to tennis.

In 2006, Mary trained hard. She reached the final of the Gaz de France in Paris. She lost to Amélie Mauresmo. She then had to stop playing for a while because of foot and groin injuries. She missed the French Open and Wimbledon.

At a tournament in October 2006, Mary suffered a serious knee injury. She ruptured a ligament in her left knee. She had surgery in December 2006. This injury kept her from playing tennis for a long time. She was expected to return in 2008 but was still recovering.

In 2007, an avenue at Roland Garros (where the French Open is held) was named in her honor. It is called Allée Mary Pierce.

Mary Pierce, Caroline Wozniacki, and Ana Ivanovic are the only three women to win both a championship and the "wooden spoon" at a Grand Slam tournament. The "wooden spoon" means losing in the first round. Mary won the Australian Open in 1995. Then, in 2002, she had to retire from her first-round match at the Australian Open.

As of October 2013, Mary Pierce lives in Black River, Mauritius. She now teaches tennis there.

Mary Pierce's Playing Style

Mary Pierce was known for her aggressive playing style. She hit the ball very hard from the baseline. She often took control of the match from the very first point. Her best shot was her forehand. She hit it hard and flat, often hitting winners from anywhere on the court. Her two-handed backhand was also powerful. She used it to attack weak serves and create sharp angles.

Her first serve was very strong, usually around 104 miles per hour (167 km/h). It was even recorded as high as 116 miles per hour (187 km/h). This meant she hit many aces. She also had a good kick serve for her second serve. Mary was one of the most aggressive players when returning serves. She could hit return winners easily.

Mary's game was all about power and attacking. Her main weakness was sometimes being inconsistent. When she was playing well, she was very dangerous. She would hit many winners and few mistakes. But when she was not in good form, her aggressive style could lead to many errors. Her game was also affected by nerves. When she was nervous, she would take a long time between points. Her favorite surfaces to play on were clay and hard courts.

Equipment

In the early 2000s, Mary Pierce wore Nike clothes. She used Yonex tennis racquets.

Career Statistics

Grand Slam Singles Finals

Mary Pierce played in six Grand Slam singles finals. She won two of them and was runner-up in four.

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1994	French Open	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	4–6, 4–6
Win	1995	Australian Open	Hard	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–2
Loss	1997	Australian Open	Hard	Martina Hingis	2–6, 2–6
Win	2000	French Open	Clay	Conchita Martínez	6–2, 7–5
Loss	2005	French Open	Clay	Justine Henin	1–6, 1–6
Loss	2005	US Open	Hard	Kim Clijsters	3–6, 1–6

Grand Slam Doubles Finals

Mary Pierce played in two Grand Slam doubles finals. She won one and was runner-up in one.

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2000	Australian Open	Hard	Martina Hingis	Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs	4–6, 7–5, 4–6
Win	2000	French Open	Clay	Martina Hingis	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	6–2, 6–4