Former champion Mary Pierce has been given a wildcard for next month's Australian Open to help re-launch her career, organisers said today.
Pierce, 26, has not played a major event for a year but will make her long-awaited return to Grand Slam tennis at the tournament which starts on January 14th.
"It's exciting that this year's Australian Open will provide the stage for the return of a player of the quality of Mary Pierce," Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard said.
"Her return will add a further dimension to what is already an incredibly strong field."
Pierce's world ranking, once as high as three, has plummeted to 129 after injuries forced her to miss most of the 2001 season meaning she was unable to qualify directly for the Australian Open.
She won the event in 1995 and reached the final in 1997.
Organisers also awarded women's wildcards to local players Christina Wheeler and Cindy Watson while men's wildcards went to Australians Jaymon Crabb and Todd Larkham and American Taylor Dent, the son of former Australian Davis Cup player Phil Dent, the 1974 Australian open runner-up.
The remainder of the wildcards will be allocated next week, organisers said.