Ellen Perez
May 21, 2021
“I started playing tennis at age seven. I grew up in a rural country town in New South Wales, where there were not many opportunities to face good players. I went to a school that did not offer much support for my tennis. At age 10, I got spondylolisthesis, stress fractures in the back that never heal. I had two right wrist surgeries and left elbow surgery. I also had appendicitis and glandular fever. On top of all that I had a fibular stress fracture and bilateral achilles surgery, which made me miss my chance to play my last junior grand slams. These injuries gave me the resilience to fight and come back. Positivity is who I am. For me, it’s about being on the court and being able to compete. I feel very fortunate. At age 16, I made the decision to take tennis more seriously, so I moved to an academy in Melbourne and shifted to distanced learning. Two years later, I went to college and played for the University of Georgia. In Australia, at the time, going to college meant that you did not make it on tour. I went to college to play professionally after one
“I started playing tennis at age seven. I grew up in a rural country town in New South Wales, where there were not many opportunities to face good players. I went to a school that did not offer much support for my tennis. At age 10, I got spondylolisthesis, stress fractures in the back that never heal. I had two right wrist surgeries and left elbow surgery. I also had appendicitis and glandular fever. On top of all that I had a fibular stress fracture and bilateral achilles surgery, which made me miss my chance to play my last junior grand slams. These injuries gave me the resilience to fight and come back. Positivity is who I am. For me, it’s about being on the court and being able to compete. I feel very fortunate. At age 16, I made the decision to take tennis more seriously, so I moved to an academy in Melbourne and shifted to distanced learning. Two years later, I went to college and played for the University of Georgia. In Australia, at the time, going to college meant that you did not make it on tour. I went to college to play professionally after one