LOCAL SPORT
game, set, match AS ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S LEADING PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYERS, SHELLHARBOUR’S ELLEN PEREZ IS A STAR ON THE RISE FOLLOWING A MOMENTOUS YEAR, INCLUDING WIMBLEDON AND THE OLYMPICS Words Penny Keogh @oursliceofpie Images Olivier Rachon Photography ollieozphoto.com
The words, of course, inspire hope that hard work and tenacity will get you there. That is profoundly evident in Ellen’s success in 2021 – the 26-year-old from Shellharbour is now in the best form of her nine-year career, which some might say has been a long time coming. “It was ridiculous the amount of people at the Olympics from the Illawarra and south coast,” Ellen Perez mentions proudly as she recounts her Tokyo Olympic experience. “Anyone can achieve. I think I really saw that at the Olympics.”
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This past year saw Ellen break into the top 200 of women’s tennis players worldwide to achieve her best rankings to date - 162nd in singles and 34th in doubles. Ellen has also achieved centrecourt prominence in some of Australia’s most inspiring recent sporting moments.
