TennisWorthy: Mary Pierce and the Comeback
Mary Pierce turned 30 years old on January 15, 2005. By then, she had already claimed 16 singles titles, two of them at Grand Slam tournaments. Her place in tennis lore was cemented.
But little did the world know, Pierce’s 2005 season would be one of the most inspiring stories of perseverance in tennis history.
Pierce started that year at No. 29 in the world. The Frenchwoman spent much of the 1990s in the top ten, but injuries – specifically one to her back – slowed Pierce in the early 2000s. After winning the French Open in 2000, Pierce had not moved past the quarterfinals at a grand slam since. She won just one title from 2001-2004.
“I haven't accomplished everything I want to in my career,” Pierce said at the 2004 U.S. Open. “I don't know exactly what it is, but hopefully I'll know one day soon.”
In spring 2005, Pierce went back to her youth. While training on the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy courts, her old coach sparked an idea.
“We began talking and joking around,” Bolletieri recalled. “Then we talked seriously. I said, ‘Mary, I think I can help you again.’ She said, ‘Let’s do it.’ I told Mary that I thought she could play as well as she did in previous years.”
When Pierce arrived at the 2005 French Open, Parisian fans showed up to her early matches likely looking more for nostalgia than a glimpse at a title threat. To this day, Pierce is still the only Frenchwoman to win Roland Garros in the Open Era.
Pierce rediscovered her mojo in Paris. She beat No. 9 seed Vera Zvonareva. Then No. 8 Patty Schnyder. Then No. 1 Lindsay Davenport. In the semifinals, she edged No. 16 Elena Likhovtseva, turning Roland Garros into a frenzy. Although Pierce fell to Justine Henin in straight sets in the final, Pierce proved to the world – and herself – talent was still within her.
"The French Open final, I think just kind of started my confirmation of what I really believed in myself, what I had been working really hard for over a year for," Pierce said.
“It's kind of neat because it's just really what I had hoped for and believed, but probably more hoped for -- that my best years were still ahead of me when I had my injuries.”
Pierce reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon – her best finish in London since 1996. A month later, she won a hard court title for the first time since 1995 at the Acura Classic in San Diego.
Pierce arrived at the US Open as the No. 12 seed and reached her first US Open final. Along the way, she beat Henin (for the first time in five tries) and countrywoman Amelie Mauresmo.
"I'm 30 and I have been on the tour for 17 years and there are still firsts for me," Pierce said. "That's pretty amazing."
Although Pierce lost the championship match to Kim Clijsters, Pierce still had magic left in her. A month after the US Open, she won the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, winning two titles in a season for the first time since 2000. In the quarterfinals of that tournament, Pierce came back from 0-6 down in a third set tiebreaker vs. Likhovtseva.
The Moscow win pushed Pierce into the Sony Ericsson Championships, where she again reached a final, falling to Mauresmo in three sets. But history was already made. Pierce finished the season at No. 5 in the world. Previously written off as past her prime, Pierce delivered a comeback season for the ages.
As Pierce soared, one of her closest friends and rivals, Hingis, watched enthusiastically. While Pierce and Hingis battled in some legendary singles matches, the duo also made a formidable doubles pairing. During a stretch playing together in 2000, Pierce and Hingis reached four doubles finals, winning two, including the 2000 French Open.
Hingis, who previously retired in February 2003 at age 22, announced she would be returning to tennis in 2006.
“When I look at the top 10 and see that Lindsay Davenport, Mary Pierce, Amelie Mauresmo and the Belgian girls [Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin] are still at the top, that definitely gives me hope,” Hingis said.
Monica Seles, out of tennis since 2003, also flirting with a comeback, called Pierce an inspiration.
“Surprised and pleased,” Pierce said at the 2006 Australian Open, in reference to Hingis and Seles’ praise. “Different emotions, I guess, to have your peers be inspired by yourself. I know I've been inspired by others. It's a very powerful thing. I think it's great also in a way because I've been through difficult times and I've worked really hard. I persevered. I never gave up. You know, I guess it's a great thing if that can help others.”
Jelena Dokic was even more blunt about taking plays out of Pierce’s book. Dokic had previously been No. 4 in the world, but she dropped to as low as No. 630 in 2006.
“I feel I can still play top-level tennis and getting back into the top-30 would satisfy my ambitions,” she said that fall. “If Mary Pierce was able to come back at the age of 30, there is no reason for me not to try at 23.”
Dokic eventually made it to a grand slam quarterfinal and climbed back to No. 45 in the world.
Unfortunately, Pierce’s second wind was short-lived. Foot and groin injuries sidelined Pierce from February to August in 2006. After a short return, Pierce tore her ACL during a match against Zvonareva in Austria that October. Pierce tried to make a comeback for the 2008 Olympics, but ultimately, she never played on the WTA Tour again.
Mary Pierce’s 2005 legacy could not be foiled by the injury. She still had her remarkable comeback season. When others had her written off, Pierce persevered and returned to the top of sport.
“There was just kind of like this little voice inside of me that just said, ‘You know, you're not done. Now's not the time to retire. You still have some great things to accomplish in tennis,’” Pierce recalled at the 2005 US Open. “I didn't really know what that was or what that could be. I felt, ‘Okay, I really believe that.’ I felt it very strongly. I thought, ‘Well, I'm just going to do everything that I possibly can, the best I can, to come back, and be the best that I can.’”
Good thing she did that. It made for a heck of a 2005 season.
Jeff Eisenband is a journalist based in New York City who previously served as senior editor of ThePostGame and has contributed to the NBA 2K League, NBA Twitch, DraftKings, Cheddar, Golfweek and the Big Ten Network.
