The players involvedMary Pierce and Vera Zvonareva
- Mary Pierce. Double Grand Slam champion from France
Mary Pierce was born in 1975 in Montreal, Canada, but having French citizenship from her mother, she chose to play for the French national team. The youngest player to make her professional debut at the time (14 years and two months), she became a top player in 1991 when she won her first WTA title in Palermo and finished the year ranked 26th. in the world.
Pearce’s early career was affected by her father’s abusive behavior, which led the WTA to ban her from any tournaments in 1993. That led Mary to seek a restraining order after he threatened her own life. After winning four other tournaments over the next two years and reaching the quarterfinals in 1993 Australian Openhe made it to the finals Roland Garros in 1994. The Frenchwoman defeated the German legend Steffi Graf in the semi-finals (6-2, 6-2). producing one of the most impressive performances in the tournament’s historybefore going down ArPassed Sanchez (6-4, 6-4) in the final.
A few months later, Pearce became the first Frenchwoman in 28 years to claim a Grand Slam title by winning the 1995 Australian Open, avenging Sanchez in the final (6-3, 6-2). Injuries plagued her in the 1996 season, but in 1997 she reached a second final in Melbourne, although this time she lost to Swiss teenage prodigy Martina Hingis 6–2, 6–2.
That same year, Pearce helped France win the Confederations Cup and finish as runners-up WTA Tour Championship (lost to Yana Novotna 7-6, 6-2, 6-3). Consistently at an elite level in the following years, her career peaked in June 2000 when she won Roland Garros, defeating Conchita Martinez in the final (6-2, 7-5). After battling injuries from 2001 to 2003, Pierce peaked in 2005. Later that year, he rose to world No. 5 with a runner-up finish at Roland Garros (a 6–1, 6–1 loss to Justin Henin). US Open: (lost to Kim Clijsters 6-3, 6-1) and at the WTA Tour Championship (lost to Amelie Mauresmo 5-7, 7-6, 6-4). In 2006, a leg injury prevented him from competing between February and August. In October of that year, he was ranked 29th in the world.
- Vera Zvonareva. The Russian, who rose to the 11th position in the world ranking
Vera Zvonareva was born in 1984 in Moscow. She played her first WTA main draw in 2000 in Moscow, where she reached the second round and lost to world No. 11 Anna Kournikova (7-6, 6-4). The Russian broke into the top 100 in 2002, reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros. as a qualifier (lost Serena Williams 4-6, 6-0, 6-1). In 2003, she won her first title in Bol (defeating Conchita Granados in the final, 7-6, 6-3), and a few weeks later she achieved her best Grand Slam performance in Paris, where she reached the quarterfinals (lost Nadia Petrova 6-1, 4-6, 6-3).
At the end of 2004, the Russian ranked 11th in the world. Zvonareva won one WTA title in Memphis (defeating Lisa Raymond 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the final) and two runner-up finishes in Cincinnati (lost to Davenport 6-3, 6-2) and Philadelphia (lost to Mauresmo 3-6, 6-6). He also reached six semifinals. His 2005 The season was plagued by injuries and his ranking dropped to 42nd in the world, but in 2006 In October, she rose again to No. 26 in the WTA rankings.
The placeLinz, Austria
Linz Generali Open was founded in 1991. It was held every year in October in indoor courts. In 1998, the tournament became part of the WTA Tier II category, attracting top players such as Lindsay Davenport, who claimed the title in 2000 and 2001. Pearce won in Linz in 1999.
The factsMary Pierce breaks down on the court in heartbreaking tears
When Pearce met Zvonareva in the second round of the Linz Open, there was no reason to expect the match to have a lasting impact on the Frenchwoman’s career. After all, the 2000 Roland-Garros champion had started the year aiming for the No. 1 spot, and while a foot injury derailed her plans, she was still very competitive and highly motivated.
Pierce took the first set with a score of 6-4, and in the second set he even earned three match points, which Zvonareva managed to save. Down 5-6 on his serve, the Russian now had a game point to push the Frenchman into a tiebreaker. At this point, just after he hit a running forehand, Pierce’s knee buckled inward and he collapsed with a piercing scream. As he remained on the ground clutching his knee, his opponent ran over with an ice pack seconds before medical personnel arrived.
Pearce was in such agony that there was no mystery about the outcome of the match, but the injury looked so serious that the future of the 31-year-old’s career was quickly being questioned by observers.
The next day, Pierce tried to send a positive message. “I feel like it’s not the time to stop, and as long as I feel that way, I’ll give it my all.” But her fitness coach, Javier Moro, said he thought it would be “a bit of a shock when we tell her how long she will be out of tennis”.
The former world No. 3 still had the 2008 Olympics on her mind, although doctors discovered she had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, which required surgery.
What next?? Pierce would never return to the tour
Despite her best efforts, Mary Pierce would never make it back on tour. In 2008, after an exhibition match with Chris Evert, he revealed that his knee was still a source of constant pain. Although he would never make an official announcement, Pierce would never race again.
But we still need to celebrate. Pierce was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2019.
In the next round, Zvonareva defeated Pati Schneider (7-6, 6-4). In the following years, the Russian would rise to world number 2, winning 12 titles and reaching the finals in both. Wimbledon and the US Open in 2010 (lost to Serena Williams in London and Clijsters in New York). After giving birth, the Russian will return to the tours and at the age of 39 (in October 2023) she remains ranked in the world’s top 20 doubles and top 300 in the world singles.
