Mary Pierce won her second – and last – Grand Slam singles title at the 2000 French Open.
Pierce, a former world number three, won her first Grand Slam title when she defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-3, 6-2 in the 1995 Australian Open Women’s Singles final.
Five years later, Pierce added to her Grand Slam total in Paris.
Who will win the Roland Garros Women’s Singles title?
Remarkably, Pierce is the most recent French player to triumph in singles at the French Open.
In fact, Pierce is the only French player to qualify for a Roland Garros singles final since 2000.
Mary Pierce’s French Open triumph
Mary Pierce came into the 2000 French Open seeded sixth, behind Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Venus Williams and Conchita Martinez.
Mary Pierce’s Grand Slam titles
- 1995 Australian Open Women’s Singles: defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the final
- 2000 French Open Women’s Singles: defeated Conchita Martinez in the final
- 2000 French Open Women’s Doubles: defeated Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez in the final [paired with Martina Hingis]
Pierce swept through the opening rounds with little fuss, defeating Tara Snyder, Barbara Rittner, Virginie Razzano and Asa Svensson in straight sets.
The French star faced a sterner test in the quarter-finals: she faced nine-time major champion Monica Seles.
After losing the first set against the American star, Pierce roared back to claim a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory on the red clay.
Pierce’s task did not get any easier in the semi-finals. However, she defied the odds, defeating top seed Martina Hingis 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
By defeating Hingis, Pierce had set up a clash with former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez in the French Open final.
Pierce emerged victorious, defeating Martinez 6–2, 7–5.
Pierce became the first French winner of the Women’s singles title in 33 years.
“To win Roland-Garros 20 years ago with the support of the country, the fans, the whole stadium cheering for me, to have my whole family and team there – it was very special to be able to live that,” Pierce told rolandgarros.com in 2020.
“You feel such strong emotions and feelings when the whole crowd roars and claps and cheers your name. Basically your whole body illuminates with an amazing feeling.”
Mary Pierce’s French Open doubles title
Pierce also won the French Open doubles title in 2000.
Pierce and Martina Hingis defeated Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez in the final, 6-2, 6-4.
That year, Brazil’s Gustavo Kuerten – who became the lowest-ranked champion in 1997 – won his second French Open title in the men’s singles event.
Paul-Henri Mathieu won the boy’s singles, while Virginie Razzano triumphed in the girl’s singles event.
Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde defeated Paul Haarhuis and Sandon Stolle in the men’s doubles final, 7–6, 6–4.
‘The Woodies’ claimed their 58th title in Paris, one more than John McEnroe and Peter Fleming and Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan.
As a result, Woodbridge and Woodforde became the most successful doubles partnership in the Open era.
