Ellen Perez (born 10 October 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. Her career-high rankings in singles and doubles are world No. 162 and No. 7, achieved in August 2019 and in April 2024, respectively. She has won eight doubles titles on the WTA Tour, three doubles titles on the Challenger Tour, as well as two singles and 19 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.
Perez made her major main-draw debut at the 2016 Australian Open in doubles with Belinda Woolcock; they lost in the first round to Jessica Moore and Storm Sanders. Perez made her first singles major appearance at the 2016 US Open, after winning the Australian Wildcard Play-off.
She played three seasons of college tennis at the University of Georgia in the United States from 2014 to 2017. She was named an All-American five times across singles and doubles.
In 2014, Perez reached the quarterfinal of the Burnie International and Melbourne, and then competed on the ITF Circuit in Europe until June when she started attending college in the United States. Perez ended 2014 with a singles rank of 655 and a doubles rank of 517.
Perez started her 2016 season in June in U.S. without qualifying for the main draw. In July, she qualified for and won her first singles ITF title in Brussels without dropping a set. She reached a semifinal and final at two subsequent events. Perez won four doubles titles in five weeks across June and July 2016.
In August, Perez won the Australian Wildcard Play-off to make her major singles debut at the US Open where she lost to Zhang Shuai, in straight sets. Perez said of the experience "It definitely didn't go as planned, or as hoped, but it was great to be able to have my Grand Slam debut and get out on court in front of all the fans and what-not. It was nice." She ended 2016 with a singles rank of 632 and doubles rank of 414.
She returned to play in June and reached three consecutive doubles finals, winning one. Doubles success continued throughout the rest of the year. In July, Perez qualified for and reached the singles final of Gatineau. This increased her singles ranking to a career-high of 363. Perez returned to Australia and reached the semifinals of Toowoomba and quarterfinals of Cairns.
Perez began the 2018 season, after being given wildcard into the Sydney International where she upset world No. 11, Kristina Mladenovic, in the first round. Her first win on the WTA Tour came when Mladenovic retired with the score 4–6, 2–4. Perez lost in round two to Ashleigh Barty.
At the Australian Open, Perez lost in the first round of qualifying to Valentini Grammatikopoulou. She made the second round at the Burnie International, Launceston International and at Perth, and then reached the final of the Clay Court International in April, losing to Jaimee Fourlis. Perez traveled to Europe and North America's ITF Circuit with limited success. In September, she attempted to qualify for two WTA tournaments in Asia before returning to Australia in October where she reached four consecutive ITF finals.
In May, Perez reached the third and final round of the French Open qualifying. In June, she qualified for Wimbledon but lost in the first round to fellow qualifier Clara Burel.
In July, Perez partnered Samantha Stosur in women's doubles at the 2020 Olympic Games, where they reached the quarterfinals. In the same month, Perez entered the final of an ITF event in Lisbon, Portugal. In October, she reached another ITF final in Portugal. She won her third title at the 2021 Tenerife Ladies Open with Ulrikke Eikeri. Perez ended 2021 with a singles rank of 196 and a doubles rank of 42.
She reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, having never won a match before at this major, and back-to-back WTA 1000 finals at the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open with Nicole Melichar. Perez also reached the US Open semifinals for the first time, having never get past the third round at this major, where she and Melichar lost to third seeded Czech duo of Krejcikova and Siniakova.
She qualified for the 2023 WTA Finals and reached the final with Melichar-Martinez, a first time at this level for both players. They lost to Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva in the championship match.
She reached her fourth WTA 1000 final at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships with Melichar-Martinez, losing to fourth seeds Storm Hunter and Kateřina Siniaková. As top seeds, they won the 2024 Bad Homburg Open, defeating Chan Hao-ching and Veronika Kudermetova in the final.
The pair reached the quarterfinals at the 2024 US Open with a straight-sets victory against the 11th seeds Sorribes Tormo and Bouzková, marking their best result at a major since Roland Garros in the previous year, when they progressed to the semifinals.
Perez and Melichar-Martinez qualified for the 2024 WTA Finals and reached the semifinals, after compiling a record of two wins and one loss in the group stages. They lost in the last four to second seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe in straight sets.
In 2025, at the start of the Middle East swing she lifted the title in Abu Dhabi, partnering Jelena Ostapenko. As a result, she returned to the top 10 in the doubles rankings on 10 February 2025.
Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||
Australian Open | A | Q2 | Q1 | 1R | Q1 | Q2 | Q1 | Q2 | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | |
French Open | A | A | A | A | A | Q3 | Q1 | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Wimbledon | A | A | A | Q1 | NH | 1R | Q1 | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | |
US Open | 1R | A | A | Q2 | A | Q1 | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | |
Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 3 | 0–3 | |
WTA 1000 | |||||||||||
Dubai / Qatar Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Indian Wells Open | A | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Miami Open | A | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Madrid Open | A | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Italian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Canadian Open | A | A | A | A | NH | A | Q2 | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Cincinnati Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Guadalajara Open | NH | A | Q1 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||||||
Wuhan Open | A | A | A | Q2 | NH | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||||
China Open | A | A | A | A | NH | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |||
Career statistics | |||||||||||
Tournaments | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | Career total: 14 | ||
Overall win-loss | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0 / 14 | 1–14 | |
Year-end ranking | 632 | 343 | 181 | 241 | 234 | 193 | 363 | 500 | $1,118,635 |
Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||
Australian Open | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 10 | 4–10 | |
French Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | SF | 3R | 0 / 5 | 7–5 | ||
Wimbledon | A | A | Q1 | 1R | NH | 1R | QF | 1R | 2R | 0 / 5 | 4–5 | ||
US Open | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | SF | 2R | QF | 0 / 6 | 11–6 | ||
Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 8–4 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 1–1 | 0 / 26 | 26–26 | |
Year-end championships | |||||||||||||
WTA Finals | DNQ | NH | DNQ | Alt | F | SF | 0 / 2 | 5–4 | |||||
National representation | |||||||||||||
Summer Olympics | A | NH | QF | NH | 1R | NH | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | |||||
Billie Jean King Cup | F | RR | QF | 33% | |||||||||
WTA 1000 | |||||||||||||
Qatar / Dubai Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | F | QF | 0 / 4 | 6–4 | |
Indian Wells Open | A | A | A | A | NH | A | A | 2R | SF | QF | 0 / 3 | 6–3 | |
Miami Open | A | A | A | A | NH | 1R | A | SF | 2R | 1R | 0 / 4 | 4–4 | |
Madrid Open | A | A | A | A | NH | QF | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 5 | 4–5 | |
Italian Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | SF | 0 / 5 | 5–5 | |
Canadian Open | A | A | A | A | NH | QF | F | QF | 1R | 0 / 4 | 7–4 | ||
Cincinnati Open | A | A | A | A | QF | 2R | F | F | SF | 0 / 5 | 14–5 | ||
Guadalajara Open | NH | 2R | 1R | NMS | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | |||||||
Wuhan Open | A | A | A | 1R | NH | QF | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | |||||
China Open | A | A | A | A | NH | QF | 1R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | ||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||
Tournaments | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 27 | 10 | Career total: 128 | ||
Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | Career total: 8 | ||
Finals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | Career total: 23 | ||
Overall win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 5–6 | 12–10 | 12–11 | 28–19 | 35–18 | 30–25 | 40–25 | 19–9 | 7 / 121 | 171–120 | |
Year-end ranking | 414 | 205 | 88 | 65 | 48 | 42 | 20 | 17 | 13 |
Australian Open | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 2R | QF | 0 / 6 | 6–6 |
French Open | A | A | NH | A | A | 1R | QF | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | |
Wimbledon | A | A | A | 2R | QF | 1R | 0 / 3 | 3–3 | ||
US Open | A | A | QF | 2R | QF | QF | 0 / 4 | 7–4 | ||
Loss | 2023 | WTA Finals, Cancún | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Laura Siegemund Vera Zvonareva | 4–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 2022 | Canadian Open | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Coco Gauff Jessica Pegula | 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 5–10 |
Loss | 2022 | Cincinnati Open | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Lyudmyla Kichenok Jeļena Ostapenko | 6–7(5–7), 3–6 |
Loss | 2023 | Cincinnati Open | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Alycia Parks Taylor Townsend | 7–6(7–1), 4–6, 6–10 |
Loss | 2024 | Dubai Championships | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Storm Hunter Kateřina Siniaková | 4–6, 2–6 |
{class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%" !Legend |
Grand Slam (0–0) |
WTA Finals (0–1) |
WTA 1000 (0–4) |
WTA 500 (3–3) |
WTA 250 (5–7) |
Hard (5–10) |
Grass (2–3) |
Clay (1–2) |
Carpet (0–0) |
Win | 1–0 | Internationaux de Strasbourg, France | International | Clay | Daria Gavrilova | Duan Yingying Han Xinyun | 6–4, 6–3 | |
Loss | 1–1 | Nottingham Open, United Kingdom | International | Grass | Arina Rodionova | Desirae Krawczyk Giuliana Olmos | 6–7(5–7), 5–7 | |
Loss | 1–2 | Feb 2020 | Hua Hin Championships, Thailand | International | Hard | Barbara Haas | Arina Rodionova Storm Sanders | 3–6, 3–6 |
Loss | 1–3 | Sep 2020 | İstanbul Cup, Turkey | International | Clay | Storm Sanders | Alexa Guarachi Desirae Krawczyk | 1–6, 3–6 |
Win | 2–3 | Mar 2021 | Abierto Zapopan, Mexico | WTA 250 | Hard | Astra Sharma | Desirae Krawczyk Giuliana Olmos | 6–4, 6–4 |
Loss | 2–4 | Apr 2021 | Charleston International, United States | WTA 250 | Clay | Storm Sanders | Hailey Baptiste Caty McNally | 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 6–10 |
Loss | 2–5 | Birmingham Classic, United Kingdom | WTA 250 | Grass | Ons Jabeur | Marie Bouzková Lucie Hradecká | 4–6, 6–2, 8–10 | |
Win | 3–5 | Tenerife Ladies Open, Spain | WTA 250 | Hard | Ulrikke Eikeri | Lyudmyla Kichenok Marta Kostyuk | 6–3, 6–3 | |
Win | 4–5 | Rosmalen Open, Netherlands | WTA 250 | Grass | Tamara Zidanšek | Veronika Kudermetova Elise Mertens | 6–3, 5–7, 12–10 | |
Loss | 4–6 | Aug 2022 | Canadian Open, Toronto | WTA 1000 | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Coco Gauff Jessica Pegula | 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 5–10 |
Loss | 4–7 | Aug 2022 | Cincinnati Open, United States | WTA 1000 | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Lyudmyla Kichenok Jeļena Ostapenko | 6–7(5–7), 3–6 |
Win | 5–7 | Aug 2022 | Tennis in Cleveland, United States | WTA 250 | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Anna Danilina Aleksandra Krunić | 7–5, 6–3 |
Loss | 5–8 | Sep 2022 | Pan Pacific Open, Japan | WTA 500 | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Gabriela Dabrowski Giuliana Olmos | 4–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 5–9 | Mar 2023 | ATX Open, United States | WTA 250 | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Erin Routliffe Aldila Sutjiadi | 4–6, 6–3, 8–10 |
Loss | 5–10 | Eastbourne International, United Kingdom | WTA 500 | Grass | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Demi Schuurs Desirae Krawczyk | 2–6, 4–6 | |
Loss | 5–11 | Aug 2023 | Cincinnati Open, United States | WTA 1000 | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Alycia Parks Taylor Townsend | 7–6(7–1), 4–6, 6–10 |
Loss | 5–12 | Aug 2023 | Tennis in Cleveland, United States | WTA 250 | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Miyu Kato Aldila Sutjiadi | 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 8–10 |
Loss | 5–13 | Nov 2023 | WTA Finals, Mexico | WTA Finals | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Laura Siegemund Vera Zvonareva | 4–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 5–14 | Linz Open, Austria | WTA 500 | Hard (i) | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Sara Errani Jasmine Paolini | 5–7, 6–4, 7–10 | |
Loss | 5–15 | Feb 2024 | Dubai Championships, United Arab Emirates | WTA 1000 | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Storm Hunter Kateřina Siniaková | 4–6, 2–6 |
Win | 6–15 | San Diego Open, United States | WTA 500 | Hard | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Desirae Krawczyk Jessica Pegula | 6–1, 6–2 | |
Win | 7–15 | Bad Homburg Open, Germany | WTA 500 | Grass | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Chan Hao-ching Veronika Kudermetova | 4–6, 6–3, 10–8 | |
Win | 8–15 | Abu Dhabi Open, UAE | WTA 500 | Hard | Jelena Ostapenko | Kristina Mladenovic Zhang Shuai | 6–2, 6–1 |
Win | 1–0 | Houston Challenger, US | Hard | Luisa Stefani | Sharon Fichman Ena Shibahara | 1–6, 6–4, 10–5 | |
Win | 2–0 | Catalonia Open, Spain | Clay | Storm Hunter | Alexa Guarachi Erin Routliffe | 6–1, 7–6(10–8) | |
Win | 3–0 | Catalonia Open, Spain (2) | Clay | Nicole Melichar-Martinez | Katarzyna Piter Mayar Sherif | 7–5, 6–2 |
{class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%" !Legend |
$60,000 tournaments (1–2) |
$25,000 tournaments (0–6) |
$10,000 tournaments (1–1) |
Hard (1–7) |
Clay (1–2) |
Win | 1–0 | Jul 2016 | ITF Brussels, Belgium | 10,000 | Clay | Kimberley Zimmermann | 6–2, 6–3 |
Loss | 1–1 | Aug 2016 | ITF Rebecq, Belgium | 10,000 | Clay | Hélène Scholsen | 6–3, 1–6, 2–6 |
Loss | 1–2 | Jul 2017 | ITF Gatineau, Canada | 25,000 | Hard | Aleksandra Wozniak | 6–7(4), 4–6 |
Loss | 1–3 | Apr 2018 | Clay Court International, Australia | 25,000 | Clay | Jaimee Fourlis | 3–6, 2–6 |
Loss | 1–4 | Sep 2018 | Darwin International, Australia | 60,000 | Hard | Kimberly Birrell | 3–6, 3–6 |
Loss | 1–5 | Oct 2018 | ITF Brisbane, Australia | 25,000 | Hard | Xu Shilin | 4–6, 3–6 |
Loss | 1–6 | Oct 2018 | ITF Toowoomba, Australia | 25,000 | Hard | Zoe Hives | 0–6, 2–6 |
Loss | 1–7 | Oct 2018 | Bendigo International, Australia | 60,000 | Hard | Priscilla Hon | 4–6, 6–4, 5–7 |
Win | 2–7 | Jul 2019 | Ashland Tennis Classic, United States | 60,000 | Hard | Zoe Hives | 6–3, 3–2 ret. |
Loss | 2–8 | Jul 2021 | ITF Lisbon, Portugal | 25,000 | Hard | Lulu Sun | 4–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 2–9 | Oct 2021 | ITF Loulé, Portugal | 25,000 | Hard | Harmony Tan | 4–6, 4–6 |
{class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%" !Legend |
$100,000 tournaments (1–1) |
$60,000 tournaments (7–2) |
$25,000 tournaments (7–4) |
$10/15,000 tournaments (4–3) |
Hard (14–5) |
Clay (4–4) |
Grass (1–1) |
Win | 1–0 | Dec 2013 | ITF Hong Kong, China SAR | 10,000 | Hard | Abbie Myers | Lee Ya-hsuan Chuang Chia-jung | 4–6, 6–3, 10–8 |
Loss | 1–1 | Apr 2014 | ITF Glen Iris, Australia | 15,000 | Hard | Tammi Patterson | Aleksandrina Naydenova Jessica Moore | 4–6, 2–6 |
Loss | 1–2 | Jun 2015 | ITF Bethany Beach, United States | 10,000 | Clay | Belinda Woolcock | Andie Daniell Sophie Chang | 4–6, 1–6 |
Loss | 1–3 | Jun 2015 | ITF Charlotte, United States | 10,000 | Clay | Lauren Herring | Maria Fernanda Alves Renata Zarazúa | 4–6, 7–6(6), 8–10 |
Win | 2–3 | Jun 2016 | ITF Baton Rouge, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Lauren Herring | Jamie Loeb Ingrid Neel | 6–3, 6–3 |
Win | 3–3 | Jul 2016 | ITF Brussels, Belgium | 10,000 | Clay | Carolina Alves | Karin Kennel Hélène Scholsen | 6–2, 6–3 |
Win | 4–3 | Jul 2016 | ITF Saint-Gervais, France | 10,000 | Clay | Abbie Myers | Fatma Al-Nabhani Estelle Cascino | 7–6(5), 6–2 |
Win | 5–3 | Jul 2016 | ITF Maaseik, Belgium | 10,000 | Clay | Sally Peers | Deborah Kerfs Chiara Scholl | 6–2, 6–2 |
Loss | 5–4 | Jun 2017 | ITF Sumter, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Luisa Stefani | Kaitlyn Christian Giuliana Olmos | 2–6, 6–3, 7–10 |
Win | 6–4 | Jun 2017 | ITF Baton Rouge, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Luisa Stefani | Francesca Di Lorenzo Julia Elbaba | 6–3, 6–4 |
Loss | 6–5 | Jul 2017 | ITF Auburn, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Luisa Stefani | Emina Bektas Alexa Guarachi | 6–4, 4–6, 5–10 |
Win | 7–5 | Jul 2017 | Challenger de Granby, Canada | 60,000 | Hard | Carol Zhao | Alexa Guarachi Olivia Tjandramulia | 6–2, 6–2 |
Win | 8–5 | Aug 2017 | ITF Fort Worth, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Giuliana Olmos | Miharu Imanishi Ayaka Okuno | 6–4, 6–3 |
Loss | 8–6 | Nov 2017 | Canberra International, Australia | 60,000 | Hard | Jessica Moore | Asia Muhammad Arina Rodionova | 4–6, 4–6 |
Win | 9–6 | Feb 2018 | Launceston International, Australia | 25,000 | Hard | Jessica Moore | Laura Robson Valeria Savinykh | 7–6(5), 6–4 |
Win | 10–6 | Feb 2018 | ITF Perth, Australia | 25,000 | Hard | Jessica Moore | Olivia Tjandramulia Belinda Woolcock | 6–7(6), 6–1, 7–9 ret. |
Loss | 10–7 | May 2018 | ITF Caserta, Italy | 25,000 | Clay | Jaimee Fourlis | Chen Pei-hsuan Wu Fang-hsien | 6–7(6), 3–6 |
Win | 11–7 | Jun 2018 | Surbiton Trophy, United Kingdom | 100,000 | Grass | Jessica Moore | Arina Rodionova Yanina Wickmayer | 4–6, 7–5, 10–3 |
Loss | 11–8 | Jul 2018 | Berkeley Club Challenge, United States | 60,000 | Hard | Sabrina Santamaria | Nicole Gibbs Asia Muhammad | 4–6, 1–6 |
Win | 12–8 | Jul 2018 | Challenger de Granby, Canada (2) | 60,000 | Hard | Arina Rodionova | Erika Sema Aiko Yoshitomi | 7–5, 6–4 |
Win | 13–8 | Aug 2018 | Landisville Tennis Challenge, United States | 60,000 | Hard | Arina Rodionova | Chen Pei-hsuan Wu Fang-hsien | 6–0, 6–2 |
Win | 14–8 | Oct 2018 | Bendigo International, Australia | 60,000 | Hard | Arina Rodionova | Eri Hozumi Risa Ozaki | 7–5, 6–1 |
Win | 15–8 | Nov 2018 | Canberra International, Australia (2) | 60,000 | Hard | Arina Rodionova | Naiktha Bains Destanee Aiava | 6–7(5), 6–3, 10–7 |
Win | 16–8 | Jan 2019 | Burnie International, Australia | 60,000 | Hard | Arina Rodionova | Irina Khromacheva Maryna Zanevska | 6–4, 6–3 |
Loss | 16–9 | Mar 2019 | ITF Canberra, Australia | 25,000 | Clay | Destanee Aiava | Naiktha Bains Tereza Mihalíková | 6–4, 2–6, 4–10 |
Loss | 16–10 | Jun 2019 | Ilkley Trophy, United Kingdom | 100,000 | Grass | Arina Rodionova | Beatriz Haddad Maia Luisa Stefani | 4–6, 7–6(5), 4–10 |
Win | 17–10 | Jan 2020 | Burnie International, Australia (2) | 60,000 | Hard | Storm Hunter | Desirae Krawczyk Asia Muhammad | 6–3, 6–2 |
Win | 18–10 | Mar 2022 | ITF Bendigo, Australia | 25,000 | Hard | Jaimee Fourlis | Gabriella Da Silva-Fick Alana Parnaby | 6–1, 6–1 |
Win | 19–10 | May 2023 | ITF Platja d'Aro, Spain | 25,000 | Clay | Ashley Lahey | Francisca Jorge Matilde Jorge | 6–3, 3–6, 12–10 |
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