Standing water in front of retaining wall okay for wall?
I basically just went to the middle of the retaining wall and considered that the peak. I slightly graded down on the left and right side of pool to help water run down to these areas, then I put a drain on each side using 4 inch flex drainage tubing. I dug down about a foot, and at the start and end, I used a sanitary white T adapter at the beginning and end of drain pipe so I can attach the tubing, have the drain cap on top and have an opening at the bottom for clean out and added drainage, and I put about 3-4 inches of river rock below the fitting and inside a little. Around the pool I added landscaping fabric and put down an 1in - 2 inches of river rock around the pool for a nice aesthetic appeal, and to help prevent erosion.  So far so good. 

Still never found any information on the effects long term of standing water in front of retaining wall, and I didn't want to wait and find out. Although the better way would have been to install a french drain around the entire pool, due to time, this cheaper, and quicker fix seems to do the job and relieve most if not all of the standing water. 

Will add pictures soon.