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Our Ellen playing at Wimbledon and the Olympics

The Bugle App

Jack Wallner

30 June 2021, 9:59 AM

Our Ellen playing at Wimbledon and the OlympicsEllen shows her style

Ellen Perez, who started her career as a Kiama District junior tennis prodigy, has reached the main draw in the Wimbledon Ladies Singles after winning three very tough Qualifying rounds. She will play the match of her life tonight at 11.15pm against France’s former World Junior champion, Clara Burel. (UPDATE: Ellen went down 2:6, 2:6)


Yesterday, Ellen was also chosen to play for the Australian Olympic tennis squad at the Tokyo Olympics.


She will be playing in the Doubles’ round for the Games, partnering with fellow Australian, Samantha Stosur who is competing in her fifth Olympics. 


Ellen’s parents, John and Mitz Perez, are thrilled. 


“We are overwhelmed with everything coming together all at once for her,” says her mother, Mitz Perez. 


“It’s hard to describe it, but I wish I could bottle this feeling and share it with everyone as we are bursting at the seams with pride and excitement.”


In her younger years, while she was living in Shellharbour with her family, Ellen played tennis as part of the Kiama & Shellharbour District Tennis Association. At age 16, she moved to a Melbourne academy to train and play more seriously.


“She started playing tennis around the age of 7, when she started coaching in Oak Flats, Kiama and Albion Park,” says Mitz. 


“We were very involved with local tennis and as things started to progress, she moved to Melbourne.


“We felt she was always going to achieve very highly, but it was just a matter of when.”


Ellen with her ticket to Tokyo


Ellen has been playing in the Women’s Tennis Association circuit since turning professional in 2017. She is at rank number 2 in Australia for Doubles and number 10 in Singles. She is also at number 50 in the world for Doubles.


Australia will send 11 tennis player to the Games, the nation’s biggest ever Olympic tennis team. The rest of the team includes Ash Barty, Ajla Tomljanovic, Storm Sanders, Nick Kyrgios, Alex De Minaur, John Peers, John Millman, Luke Saville and James Duckworth.


“She always used to say to us ‘I’d love to play for Australia’ and now it’s happening!” says Mitz.