The career and turbulent life of former tennis star Mary Pierce

Tennis fans around the world will remember Mary Pierce as one of the all-time greats of the game, who inspired an entire generation with her perseverance and powerful style of play.

Despite a turbulent off-court life, including her relationship with her father, she had a brilliant run in the 90s and was consistent until her retirement in 2006. Let's look back on the life and career of a tennis great.

Although she is considered a French player, Mary Pierce was born in Montreal, Canada in 1975 and grew up in the United States. However, her mother was French, and she decided from a young age to represent the European country by carrying the French flag in the different tournaments she played.

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She excelled in tennis from a very young age and started training seriously from the age of 10 under her father Jim Pierce's guidance, as told by ESPN. In just a couple of years, she became the United States champion in the under-12 category.

A star was born and the world got to see it in 1989, when she debuted on the professional tour at just 14 years old.

But her first few years on tour were far from easy. And it wasn't because of her game or her adaptation to the professional world of tennis, but rather the pressure her father and his aggressive and erratic behaviour towards Mary, which was often publically displayed during her matches .

Jim Pierce, who was coaching her full-time at this point, was put in the spotlight for yelling and threatening his daughter's opponents on the court. In fact, as the Telegraph later reported, on one occasion he was heard shouting "Mary, kill the b—!" from the stands during a match...an under 12s match it must be said. 

Things came to a head in 1993 during a French Open match in which Mary Pierce faced American Kimberly Po. The incident saw Jim Pierce fight with two spectators who had tried to reprimand his behaviour. It took 10 security guards to subdue and eject Jim Pierce.

As a result, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) banned him from all tournaments for five years and implemented the 'Jim Pierce rule’ which prohibited any type of abusive conduct by players, coaches or family members, as explained by Tennis Abstract. 

And worst of all was not the abuse dished out to the opponents, but what Mary herself had to suffer. When the tennis player was 17 years old, The New York Times revealed some telling details about Jim Pierce’s background, including allegations of “fraudulent behaviour, jewellery heists and foraging cheques.”

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It was then that the world learned of the physical and verbal abuse he committed against Mary herself during training or after defeats. After one defeat in 1991, for example, Jim was said to have lost his temper and threw a bag at his daughter as they were leaving the court, before beating her one they were at home.

Despite his expulsion from tournaments in 1993, Mary continued to face adversity because of her father. In that same year, he got into a fight and pulled a knife on a bodyguard who had prevented him from approaching his daughter. It was after this that Mary and her mother made formal arrangements to leave Jim.

The situation ended up reaching the courts. First, Mary legal action against Jim Pierce before her father countersued, claiming that he was entitled to 25% of his daughter's winnings. The matter was settled with Jim receiving $500,000.

All this drama took a toll on Mary. Under a number of different coaches, she struggled to find form for years until she reached stability in 2000 at the hands of the Puerto Rican Roberto Alomar and his brother, David.

"Most of her coaches never understood that Mary needed calm and tranquillity, and that when she feels good, all other things find their place," the tennis player's mother explained in an interview with the New York Times. 

It was in 2000 when Mary Pierce completely recovered and managed to fulfil her great dream. She won the French Open, against Spaniard Conchita Martínez (6-2, 7-5). She is still the last French tennis player to have achieved a win at the prestigious clay tournament. 

It wasn’t her first time at the French Open final though. In 1994, at the age of 19, she reached her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, although she was defeated by Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-4, 6-4.

Both tennis players would face each other in two more finals in which the French star would ultimately come out on top: Tokyo (1995) and Hilton Head (2000).

These all added to Pierce's stellar career, which included a total of 18 WTA titles her 17-years on the tour (1989-2006). Two Grand Slams, 5 Tier I, 5 Tier II, 2 Tier III and 4 Tier IV. Of them, six on clay, one on grass, five on cement and six on carpet.

She also specialized in doubles, where she won 10 titles, including Roland Garros (2000) and Wimbledon (2005), as well as winning the Federation Cup with the French team in 1997 and 2003). 

On October 26, 2006 in Linz, Austria, Pierce suffered a horrific, career-ending knee injury. She was only 31 years old, but that terrible event forced her to leave the court after 17 years.

Pierce called time on a brilliant career. She never reached number 1 in the WTA, but she became third in the ranking on January 30, 1995 and is part of the select group of tennis players with more than 500 victories, specifically 511 victories (compared to the 237 losses she suffered).

To date, Mary Pierce has remained firmly rooted and active in the world of tennis, dedicated to coaching, commenting and even organizing professional tournaments.

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In 2019 she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and very active on her social networks.

Pierce is a clear example of triumph over adversity. A player who has been able to find ongoing success thanks to her sheer persistence and dedication to her sport.