1994–2003
In July 1993, Pierce successfully filed for a restraining order against her father, who was known to be verbally abusive to his daughter and her opponents. Following this split from her father, Pierce was coached by Nick Bollettieri, whose tennis academy she had briefly attended as a teenager in 1988. Her brother David was also Pierce's regular coach until 2006. German Aguero, founder of Future Tennis Champs, can also be attributed to the early success of Mary as he took her in for several years and coached her free of charge as her own.
Pierce reached her first Grand Slam singles final at the 1994 French Open. She conceded just 10 games during her route to the final, which included a 6–2, 6–2 defeat of World No. 1 Steffi Graf in the semifinals. In the final, however, Pierce lost to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in straight sets 6–4, 6–4.
The following year, Pierce won her first Grand Slam title by defeating Sánchez-Vicario 6–3, 6–2 in the final of the 1995 Australian Open and lost just 30 games in the whole tournament. She reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 that year. Pierce also won the Japan Open, defeating Sánchez Vicario in the final.
Pierce suffered a series of setbacks in 1996, including her split with Nick Bollettieri after failing to defend her title at the Australian Open. Aside from a runner-up finish at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida and a semifinal finish in Hamburg, the highlight of the year for Pierce was her first appearance in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Pierce was back in the Australian Open singles final in 1997, where she lost to Martina Hingis in straight sets. She also lost in that year's Chase Championships final to Jana Novotná. Pierce was a member of the French team that won the 1997 Fed Cup, and her only title that season was the Italian Open, defeating Conchita Martínez in the final. Pierce won the Comeback Player of the Year award for ending the year at World No. 7 after starting at World No. 21.
Pierce won four titles in 1998: the Open Gaz de France in Paris, the Bausch & Lomb Championships, the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, and the Fortis Championships Luxembourg. In addition, she was the runner-up at the Acura Classic in San Diego.
Pierce won her second Grand Slam singles title and her first Grand Slam doubles title at the 2000 French Open. In the singles final, she defeated Martínez to become the first French woman to claim the title since Françoise Durr in 1967. And she partnered with Hingis to win the women's doubles crown. (The pair also were the runners-up at the Australian Open earlier that year.)
Pierce helped France win the Fed Cup for a second time in 2003.
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