Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

The WTA announced today that two-time Grand Slam singles champion Mary Pierce will attend the upcoming BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global as a non-playing WTA Finals Legend. The role will see the French star participate in a variety of fan engagement activities, public forums and sponsor meetings, being held in Singapore as part of a 10-day festival of tennis that takes place from October 23–November 1, 2015.

“The WTA Finals is such a special event that celebrates women’s tennis and I am so honored to be a part of it,” said Pierce. “It will be a great pleasure to meet with old friends, watch the best players in the world compete and also witness the future generation in action. The sport has been such a huge part of my life and to be able to travel to Singapore to share my past experiences, as well as create new memories with local tennis fans, is an opportunity I treasure.”

In a WTA career that spanned 17 years, Pierce rose as high as No.3 in the world and reached five Grand Slam finals. At the Australian Open in 1995 she defeated Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the title match to become the first Frenchwoman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Francoise Durr in 1967; at her home Slam of Roland Garros in 2000 she defeated Conchita Martinez in the singles final and also completed a rare sweep by winning the doubles with Martina Hingis. She qualified for the WTA Finals on seven occasions and was twice runner-up, in 1997 and 2005. By the time she played her last tour match in 2006, Pierce had collected 18 tour-level singles titles and 10 doubles titles, posted seven year-end Top 10 finishes, and also been ranked No.3 in doubles. She won the 2005 Wimbledon mixed doubles title with India’s Mahesh Bhupathi and was a member of the victorious French Fed Cup teams in 1997 and 2003. She remains closely involved in the sport as a coach, and in 2015 launched the Mary Pierce Indian Ocean Series, a string of four ITF $10,000 tournaments held on the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and Reunion.

“Mary’s love for tennis has brought her so much success and we are grateful to have her here showing her support,” said Melissa Pine, Tournament Director of the WTA Finals and Vice President of WTA Asia Pacific. “It means so much to have her at the WTA Finals as so many of the players look up to her and she continues to inspire them as they pursue their passion.”

Other legendary athletes attending the 2015 WTA Finals in non-playing Ambassador roles include Chris Evert and Li Na. The field of the four-player WTA Legends Classic this year comprises Tracy Austin, Marion Bartoli, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Martina Navratilova, who is the namesake of the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Doubles Trophy, which was unveiled in 2014.

Nine days to go until the much-anticipated, season-end showdown pitching the best against the best, top singles players Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova have secured their berths, with four coveted spots still up for grabs in the most hotly-contested race in the event’s four-decade history. They will be joined in Singapore by the Top 8 doubles qualifiers, led by the World No.1 pairing of Hingis/Mirza. The WTA Finals offers a record $7 million in prize money in 2015 up from $6.5 million in 2014, which represents the biggest payout for a week’s tournament in women’s tennis.

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.