Mary Pierce's Emotion Upon Returning to Roland Garros: "I Felt like a Player, It Touched My Heart"

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One of the most emotive images from this past weekend of Roland Garros was left by Mary Pierce during the women's trophy presentation ceremony, reuniting with the audience that saw her win 26 years ago.

Indeed, Mary Pierce is not only the last French player to win Roland Garros in singles, she is actually the only one to have achieved it in the Open Era. A legend who made her mark back in the year 2000, when she defeated Conchita Martínez in the final. This Saturday, destiny had it that Pierce herself would present the champion's trophy to Mirra Andreeva, Conchita's current protege. In an interview with L’Equipe, the former world No. 3 explained all the emotions experienced during this recent ceremony.

"It's been a very fun experience. Mirra Andreeva is a beautiful champion, I had told Conchita (Martínez) two years ago that this player would go far, so I am not surprised to see her winning her first Grand Slam title here at 19 years old," affirmed the 51-year-old former player about the Russian. "I really like her game, she is an aggressive player, serves and returns well, and is also very mentally strong. In the final, we saw her make some incredible shots, which was not easy with the wind that day."

After the perfect storm of Andreeva and her convincing victory over Maja Chwalinska, the emotional moment arrived, a ceremony where the question among fans is always the same: who will present the trophy this year? The chosen one was Mary Pierce, champion here in the 2000 season in the only edition in the Open Era where the cup landed in the hands of a local tennis player. It had been a long time since we had seen Montreal at an event like this, hence why she was seen teary-eyed from the moment she set foot on Philippe Chatrier, receiving all the affection from a crowd devoted to her.

"I hadn't asked to come since then, and Amélie (Mauresmo), the tournament director, got in touch with me a few months ago. So I said yes immediately because it's always a pleasure to set foot on my favorite court in the world, Philippe Chatrier. It's the best court on the planet, I love it," Pierce acknowledged in the interview, who apart from her title here in 2000 also finished as runner-up in 1994 and 2005. This was precisely a topic of conversation up there with Maja Chwalinska.

"When I was next to her up there on the podium, I told her what I thought: 'Maja, I just want to tell you that you had a great tournament, I really want to encourage you because my first Grand Slam final was here, at 19, and I lost too. But then I came back and won.' To which she replied, 'Yes, but you didn't play as badly as I played today.' Then I had to tell her: 'Well, my first final in 1994, that one with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, was really quite terrible,' the Frenchwoman added with laughter.

Mary Pierce reacts to her emotional reception at Philippe Chatrier

Those of us who know Mary Pierce's story perfectly understand what such a return to Roland Garros meant to her. A massive welcome from her people to remind her how much she is still loved, as well as how much they miss having a player of her caliber among French tennis ranks. Hopefully, this was just the beginning of a new phase where the two-time Grand Slam champion will be seen more frequently in the spotlight. If this last experience is anything to go by, I have no doubt.

"The truth is that when you return and see yourself next to the cup, when the moment comes to present the trophy, you feel a bit like when you were a player. You're back there behind the scenes, until you're called, and then you step back onto the court. All of that brought back many moments, somehow touched my heart; I didn't even expect the video they made for me. It was a complete surprise, it moved me a lot, so I am very grateful," shared the Frenchwoman in the conversation.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La emoción de Mary Pierce al volver a Roland Garros: “Me sentí jugadora, me tocó el corazón”