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Hilton Head Island, SC — Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) President, Roy Barth, has named two prominent women in international tennis as Presidential Appointees to the PTR Board of Directors. With the appointments of Garvin and Pierce, PTR gains the expertise and experience needed to continue growing internationally plus adds to the gender diversity on the PTR Board.

Mary Pierce is a four-time Grand Slam Singles and Doubles Champion, having won Singles titles at Roland Garros and the Australian Open. In 1997 and 2003, Mary helped lead France to its first two Fed Cup titles. Pierce reached a WTA career high of #3 in the world in 2000. In 2013, she was a featured speaker at the ITF Worldwide Coaches Workshop in Cancun, Mexico. Pierce has been invited to be the opening speaker at the 2016 PTR International Symposium. Pierce now works as a touring pro coach. She earned her WTA Pro Course Certification in 2012, and currently holds three PTR Certifications: Performance, 11 to 17 and Adult Development.

Lucy Garvin is a Past President of the USTA, USTA Southern and USTA South Carolina. Garvin had many accomplishments as USTA President from 2009-10, but the one that stands out was her establishment of the Strategic Vision Committee to develop a long range plan for the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the transformation of which is now in progress. Garvin then went on to serve two terms on the ITF Board of Directors. In her second run for office, Garvin became the first female ever to finish at the top of the balloting. For her distinguished service, Garvin was unanimously selected as an ITF Honorary Life Counselor. Garvin currently serves on the ITF Juniors Committee.

“We currently have strong and long lasting relationships with three of the four Grand Slam nations (USTA, The LTA and Tennis Australia) and we would like to start one with the French Tennis Federation (FFT),” said Barth. “Both Mary and Lucy have strong ties to the FFT, and we hope they can help forge a mutually beneficial relationship. Having played at Roland Garros in 1970, I would love to see the two organizations work closer to grow our sport globally.”

On accepting the appointment, Garvin stated, “I look forward to serving PTR, and working with them to carry out their mission to continue to grow the game of tennis in the US and internationally!”

Of her appointment to the PTR Board, Pierce commented, “PTR’s coach education, its willingness to grow the number of women coaches, as well as their international reach, are the main reasons I am willing to lend my expertise.”

PTR is the largest global organization of tennis teaching professionals with more than 15,000 members in 125 countries. It has the greatest percentage of multicultural and women members of any such organization. PTR is dedicated to educating, certifying and servicing tennis teachers and coaches around the world in order to grow the game.