Mary Pierce facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mary Pierce

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)
Singles
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 on January 15, 1975, is a famous French former professional tennis player. She was once ranked as high as No. 3 in the world for both singles and doubles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

Mary won 18 singles titles during her career. This includes two major Grand Slam tournaments: the 1995 Australian Open and the 2000 French Open. She also won five important Tier I singles events. She reached the finals of four other major singles tournaments and the WTA Tour Finals twice.

In doubles, Mary won 10 titles. She won two major doubles titles: the 2000 French Open in women's doubles with Martina Hingis, and the 2005 Wimbledon Championships in mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi. She was also a runner-up in women's doubles at the 2000 Australian Open with Martina Hingis.

Mary Pierce was honored by being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2019. She is the most recent French woman to win the French Open singles title.

About Mary Pierce

Mary Pierce was born in Montreal, Quebec, 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 but played for France in international tennis events. Mary speaks English and French very well. As of May 2019, she lives in Mauritius.

Mary had some challenges with her father, who was also her coach for many years. The Women's Tennis Association even created a rule, sometimes called the "Jim Pierce rule," to help protect players and coaches at tournaments. Later in her life, after she stopped playing professional tennis, Mary and her father were able to make up. Mary has also shared that she found new focus and strength in her life, which she credits to her friendship with fellow tennis player Linda Wild.

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, at a WTA tournament in Hilton Head, Mary became one of the youngest American players to join the professional tour. She was only 14 years and 2 months old.

Because of her strong physical play and powerful style, people compared her hitting to that of Jennifer Capriati. Mary quickly became known as one of the hardest hitters in women's tennis. She won her first WTA Tour singles tournament in July 1991 in Palermo.

Grand Slam Success: 1994–2003

In July 1993, Mary Pierce decided to get a restraining order against her father. He was known for being verbally harsh towards her and her opponents. The WTA even banned him from attending her tournaments. After this, Mary was coached by Nick Bollettieri, a famous tennis coach. Her brother, David, also coached her regularly until 2006.

Mary reached her first Grand Slam singles final at the 1994 French Open. She played incredibly well, even beating the 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 at the 1995 Australian Open. She defeated Sánchez Vicario in the final. She became the first Canadian-born tennis player to win a singles Grand Slam. That year, she reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 3. She also won the Japan Open.

In 1997, Mary was back in the Australian Open singles final, but she lost to Martina Hingis. She also reached the final of the WTA Tour Championships that year. Mary was part of the French team that won the 1997 Fed Cup. She won the "Comeback Player of the Year" award because she improved her ranking from No. 21 to No. 7.

She won four titles in 1998: the Paris indoor event, the Amelia Island Championships, the Kremlin Cup, and the Luxembourg Open.

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

Later Career and Injuries: 2004–2006

After a few quieter years, Mary won her first title since the 2000 French Open at the Rosmalen Open in 2004. At the Olympics in Athens, she beat Venus Williams before losing in the quarterfinals. At the US Open, she defeated Maria Sharapova.

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

At the US Open, Mary beat Henin for the first time. She then defeated Amélie Mauresmo to reach her first US Open semifinal. She reached the final, but lost to Kim Clijsters. Mary then won her second title of the year at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Her strong performance in 2005 helped her ranking rise from No. 29 to No. 5.

In 2006, Mary faced injuries. She reached the final of the Gaz de France in Paris, but then had to stop playing for six months due to foot and groin injuries. She missed the French Open and Wimbledon.

Knee Injury and Retirement

At the Generali Ladies Linz tournament in October 2006, Mary suffered a serious injury. She ruptured a ligament in her left knee. She had surgery in December 2006 and missed all of 2007. She was expected to return in 2008, but remained sidelined.

Mary made an appearance at the 2007 French Open. An avenue at Roland Garros was named in her honor: Allée Mary Pierce. She was also named to the French Olympic team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but had to withdraw due to her injury.

Mary Pierce, Caroline Wozniacki, and Ana Ivanovic are the only three women to win both a championship and a "wooden spoon" (meaning they lost in the first round) at a Grand Slam tournament. Mary won the 1995 Australian Open but received the wooden spoon at the 2002 Australian Open.

As of October 2013, Mary lives in Black River, Mauritius, where she teaches tennis.

Mary Pierce's Playing Style

Mary Pierce was known for her aggressive style of play. She would hit the ball very hard and flat, especially with her forehand. This allowed her to hit winning shots from anywhere on the court. Her two-handed backhand was also powerful and helped her create sharp angles.

Her first serve was very strong, often reaching speeds of 167 km/h (104 mph) and sometimes as high as 187 km/h (116 mph). She also had an effective kick serve for her second serve, usually around 138 km/h (86 mph). Mary was one of the most aggressive players when returning serves.

Mary's main weakness was her consistency. When she was playing well, she was very dangerous, hitting many winners with 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. Mary preferred playing on clay and hard courts.

Equipment

In the early 2000s, Mary Pierce wore Nike clothing and used Yonex tennis racquets.

Career Statistics

Grand Slam Singles Performance

Grand Slam Finals

Singles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runner-ups)

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

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

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

Mixed doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	2005	Wimbledon	Grass	Mahesh Bhupathi	Tatiana Perebiynis Paul Hanley	6–4, 6–2

See also

In Spanish: Mary Pierce para niños

• List of sportspeople with dual nationality