(August 29, 2023) FLUSHING, NY – Currently ranked at No. 42 in singles and No. 28 in doubles, the 22-year-old American Alycia Parks continues to rise. She won her first WTA main tour event earlier this year in Lyon, France and just two weeks ago she paired with Taylor Townsend for the first time to win the women’s doubles in Cincinnati, a WTA 1000 event. Most people do not realize that Parks holds the record for the fastest serve on the WTA Tour at 129 MPH.
She lost a tough first-round match at the US Open on Tuesday to No. 13 seed Daria Kasatkina 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Court 5. Despite the loss, Parks still remains positive about her performance.
“I think I played well in the match,” said Parks. “The second set something switched up and I’m not sure what did, but overall, I think I did play the best I could play today energy wise.”
“I’m going to take this match and got to the practice court and see what I could have done better. I’m definitely going to talk to my coach after this because he kind of working with two players, me and another player.
“I feel like I lost the match, but I didn’t. I just know that I have the rest of this year to reach my goals so that’s really the focus.”
“Like I said, I don’t know how I lost the match. I will have a conversation with my coach and see what he took away from the match, and I’m just going to head to the practice courts and work on it. I think the next matches that’s coming up for me will be a different result, that’s how I feel at least, so I’m just going to end the season how I want to end it, which is pretty high and I think I can get there.”
She was very happy with all the crowd support. “The crowd was really behind me today, too bad I couldn’t pull through, but I keep pushing.”
“Yes, playing in the states at the end of the year is always fun. I’m sitting down and everyone is saying like “Let’s go AP” or they’ll say “A P” so it makes me feel good that I actually have fans now and there on my side win or lose.”
Parks talked about her goal for this year:
“I definitely want to end up Top 20 by the end of the year, and I think it’s very possible for me. I guess I’m chasing after my doubles ranking. It’s always been that way for me.”
There are so many American women on the tour doing well, who inspire her but is she is self-motivating.
“I’m kind of in my own lane, so I’m not going to worry about what anyone else says or is doing. I’m just on my own path.”
Fashion is a passion for Parks as her family has a clothing line, run by her sister. She was also one of the tennis players featured in a recent Vanity Fair article: Frances Tiafoe, Jessica Pegula, Tommy Paul, and More: American Tennis Has Never Been Hotter | Vanity Fair
“Vanity Fair was really fun hopefully I’m in more of the shoots,” Parks said. “I really enjoyed that.”
Parks’ US Open is not over yet, as she’ll be playing mixed doubles with Denis Kudla and women’s doubles with Sophie Chang.
Karen Pestaina for Tennis Panorama
