Sophomore Ellen Perez will compete at the Australian Open tonight, slated for the fourth match of the day on Court 15 at Melbourne Park, the site of the prestigious tournament.

 
All matches on Court 15 will be viewable via live stream on ESPN3, and the action will begin at 7 p.m. ET (11 a.m. Wednesday morning local time in Melbourne).
 
Perez, an All-American and the No. 12 singles player in the latest ITA rankings, is one of just six collegiate women’s tennis players to earn a bid down under. She will play along side Florida’s Belinda Woolcock, a native of Melbourne, in the doubles bracket. Woolcock holds the No. 3 spot in the ITA singles poll.
 
“What an exciting opportunity for Ellen to be able to play in a main draw of a Grand Slam in her own country,” said Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace. “That’s any tennis player’s dream, to be able to reach a level where you can get into a main draw of a Grand Slam. Ellen has worked hard, and now she’s taking that next step. The great thing about her is she realizes there’s a lot more work and improvement that can be done. We certainly wish her the best of luck and we’re all cheering for her.”
 
The pair earned a wild card spot at the Grand Slam tournament and will face a pair of Australians – Jessica Moore and Storm Sanders – in the first round.
 
The Bulldogs’ Shellharbour, Australia native earned All-America honors a year ago as a freshman while playing with Lauren Herring in doubles. The duo went 18-9 with nine victories over ranked opponents.
 
The women’s tennis team will open its season on Friday at 1 p.m. as it hosts Wyoming in the second match of the ITA Kick-Off.
 
For more information on the Georgia Women’s Tennis team, follow the team on:
 
Twitter: @UGAWomensTennis
Instagram: @ugawomenstennis