Quick Chat: Ellen Perez
July 12, 2021 | Women's Tennis, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Ellen Perez had a busy day last Tuesday, just one small part of a very busy July for the former Georgia women's tennis All-American from Shellharbour, Australia.
Before hopping on FaceTime for a Quick Chat, Perez had easily won her first-round match at a pro tournament in Lisbon, Portugal. (Perez went on to reach the final, where she lost in two tight sets.) And after our conversation, she had a midterm exam to take. After the current class is completed, Perez will be only one class short of graduating from the University of Georgia with a degree in Sport Management.
A five-time All-American at Georgia, Perez, 25, turned professional in 2017. Since then she's had the most success in doubles — she's currently ranked No. 50 in the world in doubles — but her singles performances are getting better and better. Earlier this month, Perez qualified for the main draw at Wimbledon in singles and doubles for the first time.
It was also announced earlier this month that Perez had been selected to the Australian Olympic team. She will play doubles with Sam Stosur, a 37-year-old legend who won the U.S. Open singles title in 2011, reached No. 1 in the world and will be playing in her fifth Olympics. Perez left home on either the last day of February or March 1, she can't recall at this point, and won't return to Australia until after the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 30.
During our Quick Chat, Perez talked about going to the Tokyo Olympics, playing at Wimbledon, getting her degree, life on the road, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What was it like playing in the singles and the doubles at Wimbledon?
Perez: Being able to play both singles and doubles at a Slam is always something that I've wanted to do. I was able to do it with some wild cards but to be able to qualify off my own results was something really special. It was a really cool experiences, and to be able to do it at Wimbledon, there's a special aura around Wimbledon so that was a nice feeling.
Frierson: What is life like on the pro tour?
Perez: Transitioning to the pros, I found it a little difficult coming out of college. You've got this environment where you're surrounded by so many girls and teammates, and everything's kind of done for you. Georgia covers all costs, travel's easy and you don't have to do much other than just play and compete. You're kind of thrown in the deep end leaving college and having to grind it out in the ITFs (smaller tournaments) and spend a lot of money.
It is tough to start out, but once you make your way through some of the draws and get your ranking up, being on the WTA, it's nice, it's a lot easier (off the court). It's just about building experience for me at this point. Doubles obviously comes a little more natural to me and I've done well, and I've found myself staying in tournaments a little bit longer because of the doubles. It's all about, now, doing that in the singles and making a name for myself in singles.
Frierson: Are you finishing up your degree just to complete this thing that you started and put a lot of time into during your years at Georgia, or is there something else in mind?
Perez: I think I owe it to myself after doing two years of it to finish it off. I don't like doing something halfway through, I like to always like to achieve something and finish what I started. For me, if I put that much time in then I wanted to get the degree at the end.
The other side is, maybe down in the future I use that degree. I don't know how long I'm going to be on the tour — there's things like injuries and things you can predict — so I wanted to have that degree. There are certain things in mind after tennis that maybe I could go into, I'm not exactly sure, but I'm sure there are doors that would open, and having that degree definitely can't hurt me.
Frierson: What does it mean to you to make the Olympic team and be heading to Tokyo here soon?
Perez: It's an amazing feeling. It's something that I always dreamt of as a kid. I always said I wanted to put on the green and gold and play for Australia — I think it's kind of the highest honor. For me, it really means a lot. I've grown up watching different athletes, watching the Olympics and all of the athletes, to be honest, so to be able to finally get there and be going myself, it's something you can't really put into words. I'm really looking forward to it.
Frierson: I'm guessing Sam Stosur is somebody that you've really looked up to for most of your life at this point.
Perez: Exactly. I remember when I was roughly 14 and I'd just won nationals, and Sam was just winning the U.S. Open, and I got to hit with her. I thought it was the coolest thing. I remember being out there and taking photos with her and being like, "Oh, my gosh, I got to hit with Sam Stosur."
As time goes on you get to know each other, you're around her in training, and I've been able to form a good friendship with her. I've played a few doubles events now with her — she super awesome, down to earth, a great mentor, and this is her fifth Olympics so she obviously has a lot of experience.
I'm always learning from her. Apart from being a great tennis player, she's an even better person. It's always great to be around her.
Frierson: How big a part of being a successful pro is learning how to travel as smartly and efficiently as possible?
Perez: I would say I'm a season vet of packing, but definitely some things are a challenge. I can remember packing when I was going to America for college — you know you're going to live over there and you have to take a lot of things, but you can only take two bags [laughs]. I remember that was a really tough pack: what are the most valuable things to take?
I remember this year, preparing to leave (Australia) and knowing that because of the pandemic I'm not going to come back to Australia until after the U.S. Open, this is probably the longest trip, being away for seven or eight months. It's kind of that case of don't take too much, because you always accumulate things on the road. I'm terrible: I always shop and I get more sponsorship gear and stuff like that. I wanted to pack enough but not too much, and that was a really tough pack for me.
I've always been someone that can pack really efficiently, and I'm someone that can pack up and leave a hotel room really quickly. It probably just comes with the grind.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Â
Staff Writer
Ellen Perez had a busy day last Tuesday, just one small part of a very busy July for the former Georgia women's tennis All-American from Shellharbour, Australia.
Before hopping on FaceTime for a Quick Chat, Perez had easily won her first-round match at a pro tournament in Lisbon, Portugal. (Perez went on to reach the final, where she lost in two tight sets.) And after our conversation, she had a midterm exam to take. After the current class is completed, Perez will be only one class short of graduating from the University of Georgia with a degree in Sport Management.
A five-time All-American at Georgia, Perez, 25, turned professional in 2017. Since then she's had the most success in doubles — she's currently ranked No. 50 in the world in doubles — but her singles performances are getting better and better. Earlier this month, Perez qualified for the main draw at Wimbledon in singles and doubles for the first time.
It was also announced earlier this month that Perez had been selected to the Australian Olympic team. She will play doubles with Sam Stosur, a 37-year-old legend who won the U.S. Open singles title in 2011, reached No. 1 in the world and will be playing in her fifth Olympics. Perez left home on either the last day of February or March 1, she can't recall at this point, and won't return to Australia until after the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 30.
During our Quick Chat, Perez talked about going to the Tokyo Olympics, playing at Wimbledon, getting her degree, life on the road, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What was it like playing in the singles and the doubles at Wimbledon?
Perez: Being able to play both singles and doubles at a Slam is always something that I've wanted to do. I was able to do it with some wild cards but to be able to qualify off my own results was something really special. It was a really cool experiences, and to be able to do it at Wimbledon, there's a special aura around Wimbledon so that was a nice feeling.
Frierson: What is life like on the pro tour?
Perez: Transitioning to the pros, I found it a little difficult coming out of college. You've got this environment where you're surrounded by so many girls and teammates, and everything's kind of done for you. Georgia covers all costs, travel's easy and you don't have to do much other than just play and compete. You're kind of thrown in the deep end leaving college and having to grind it out in the ITFs (smaller tournaments) and spend a lot of money.
It is tough to start out, but once you make your way through some of the draws and get your ranking up, being on the WTA, it's nice, it's a lot easier (off the court). It's just about building experience for me at this point. Doubles obviously comes a little more natural to me and I've done well, and I've found myself staying in tournaments a little bit longer because of the doubles. It's all about, now, doing that in the singles and making a name for myself in singles.
Frierson: Are you finishing up your degree just to complete this thing that you started and put a lot of time into during your years at Georgia, or is there something else in mind?
Perez: I think I owe it to myself after doing two years of it to finish it off. I don't like doing something halfway through, I like to always like to achieve something and finish what I started. For me, if I put that much time in then I wanted to get the degree at the end.
The other side is, maybe down in the future I use that degree. I don't know how long I'm going to be on the tour — there's things like injuries and things you can predict — so I wanted to have that degree. There are certain things in mind after tennis that maybe I could go into, I'm not exactly sure, but I'm sure there are doors that would open, and having that degree definitely can't hurt me.
Frierson: What does it mean to you to make the Olympic team and be heading to Tokyo here soon?
Perez: It's an amazing feeling. It's something that I always dreamt of as a kid. I always said I wanted to put on the green and gold and play for Australia — I think it's kind of the highest honor. For me, it really means a lot. I've grown up watching different athletes, watching the Olympics and all of the athletes, to be honest, so to be able to finally get there and be going myself, it's something you can't really put into words. I'm really looking forward to it.
Frierson: I'm guessing Sam Stosur is somebody that you've really looked up to for most of your life at this point.
Perez: Exactly. I remember when I was roughly 14 and I'd just won nationals, and Sam was just winning the U.S. Open, and I got to hit with her. I thought it was the coolest thing. I remember being out there and taking photos with her and being like, "Oh, my gosh, I got to hit with Sam Stosur."
As time goes on you get to know each other, you're around her in training, and I've been able to form a good friendship with her. I've played a few doubles events now with her — she super awesome, down to earth, a great mentor, and this is her fifth Olympics so she obviously has a lot of experience.
I'm always learning from her. Apart from being a great tennis player, she's an even better person. It's always great to be around her.
Frierson: How big a part of being a successful pro is learning how to travel as smartly and efficiently as possible?
Perez: I would say I'm a season vet of packing, but definitely some things are a challenge. I can remember packing when I was going to America for college — you know you're going to live over there and you have to take a lot of things, but you can only take two bags [laughs]. I remember that was a really tough pack: what are the most valuable things to take?
I remember this year, preparing to leave (Australia) and knowing that because of the pandemic I'm not going to come back to Australia until after the U.S. Open, this is probably the longest trip, being away for seven or eight months. It's kind of that case of don't take too much, because you always accumulate things on the road. I'm terrible: I always shop and I get more sponsorship gear and stuff like that. I wanted to pack enough but not too much, and that was a really tough pack for me.
I've always been someone that can pack really efficiently, and I'm someone that can pack up and leave a hotel room really quickly. It probably just comes with the grind.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
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Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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