Aussie Tennis Stars Ellen Perez Spends Quarantine Week 1 in Perth with Storm Sanders and Dasha Gavrilova

As I sit here on day 7 of quarantine, I write this update on what it’s like to enter Australia under the current Covid-19 restrictions. Daria Gavrilova, Storm Sanders and I finished our trip in Paris after competing in the French Open and managed to book a flight for October 2nd to Perth.

Might I mention getting a flight back to Australia was not easy or cheap. We had all had numerous flights cancelled on us and the likelihood of getting home on a reasonably length journey for a reasonable price and on a reasonable date dwindled as time went on.

It was actually a miracle the day of Storm and my doubles match, a flight the following day to Perth popped up with three business-class seats and a 24-hour cancellation policy. We jumped at the opportunity and booked the flight in case we were to lose. Maybe we jinxed ourselves, but it was risky not to book the flight and try to battle to get another one later on. 

Upon arriving in Australia, we had to go through a lot of security and police escorts to get to our hotel where we would quarantine. The idea of doing a 14-day hotel quarantine has not been the most appealing and one that has brought us girls a little anxiety and worry. Knowing you are going to be locked in a room for 14 days with no time allowed outside and the limited space and equipment inside isn’t the most exciting or amazing opportunity to be presented with.

Upon arrival, Daria Gavrilova and I managed to score a room with a connecting door which was a huge win as it allows us to hang out together and keep one another company and entertained, while also providing the chance to spend time alone and silence if needed. 

Day 1 of quarantine was rather easy and entertaining. We woke up and had breakfast together, we had a workout together, we watched some TV shows and time flew by. 

Day 2 of quarantine was very similar, besides the jet lag waking me up at 4 a.m. We got another workout in, watched American Murder together which was crazy messed up and got gym equipment delivered to us from Tennis Australia. I even got a chance to test out the boxing gloves on Dasha!

Day 3 has probably been the most entertaining day so far in terms of us trying a whole bunch of things. We woke up to an amazing avocado toast for breaky and hit up our local coffee shop with our usual orders (latte for Dasha, chai latte for me). We were then surprised by a delivery from the Mercure Perth, with a badminton, volleyball, frisbee, paddle tennis gift pack along with uno cards and PJs. Apparently, they have been watching our Instagram stories as we have been vlogging every waking hour of the quarantine.

I do suggest you following along on our Instagram pages if you want to see some behind-the-scenes action. The hook-up of this equipment meant we could hold the badminton world championships and Australian carpet open. We re-arranged the entire room and set up the net and played a game before we marked up the walls and made a mess. We then both got in a bike session and I have been smashing a new TV show: Killing Eve.

Day 4 we decided to do a tough bike/gym session, which had us questioning our sanity. It was nice to sweat and work hard but I think that will probably do us for the entire 14 days in terms of tough sessions! I topped off this day with an uber eats order of bubble tea as it’s always a go to treat of mine. 

Day 5 was welcomes by a special delivery from Alicia Molik. It was a cute little goodie bag containing chocolate, popcorn, tea, avocado and fruits. Basically, all the essentials to get through the next week. We snuck in a quick work out session and finished the afternoon by making bracelets. You can take a look at our bracelets we made on @Dash.lets on Instagram.

Day 6 consisted of some serious bracelet making, some golf, and the dreaded washing of clothes. Being locked in a hotel for 14 days and no one is allowed to touch the stuff inside the room because it could contain COVID meant I had to handwash the basic essentials to get through the next week. It really ruined the day haha. I finished the night off by watching my good friends Alexa Guarachi and Desirae Krawczyk make it into the double’s finals at Roland Garros. Fitting for them to do so well as they were the team to knock Storm Sanders and I out. I guess we can say we had a bad draw :p

And now currently here we are on day 7. Arguably the best day of quarantine so far and going to be hard to beat. It’s my 25th birthday and I have been spoilt with gifts. I had breakfast delivered by Jaimee Fourlis, flowers and dessert from Alicia Molik, balloons from my parents, more cake, a toy dog, a grazing board, wine and an extravagant three-course meal from the Mercure Hotel Perth staff. Not to mention all the calls and texts from family and friends. It’s definitely a birthday I’ll always remember.

I’m pretty optimistic as we enter week two of quarantine. I’m sure the fun and games will likely diminish as our hopes and energy dies but so far we have been coping well and making the most of a tough situation. I will say that fresh air, a walk outside and going back to what we love doing most (playing tennis) is long awaited and can’t come soon enough!

Feel free to follow along or send nice messages as we tackle this second week of the journey on my Instagram @ellenperez95.