American Alycia Parks makes top 100 debut with maiden WTA 125k singles title, barely misses out on Australian Open main draw spot
Rising American tennis talent Alycia Parks made her top 100 debut on Monday after winning her maiden singles title at the WTA level this past weekend. The 21-year-old, who started the week at No. 134 in the rankings, won the Andorra Open - a WTA 125k event - on Sunday after a 6-1, 6-4 win over Rebecca Peterson in the final.
Despite breaking into the top 100, Parks misses out on direct entry into the main draw of the 2023 Australian Open, with as many as 11 players using protected rankings to enter the women's singles main draw.
The American, who is known for her big serve and aggressive game, smashed 30 winners, including 10 aces, in Sunday's final in Andorra. She also beat former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, Linda Noskova in the first round 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-2, and Oceane Dodin 6-3, 7-6(6) in the second round.
Earlier this season, Parks gave glimpses of her ability on the big stage, beating the likes of former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova and Maria Sakkari en route to the Ostrava Open quarterfinals. The win against Sakkari was her maiden singles top-10 win. She eventually lost to 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova in the last-eight stage.
Parks also won the Ostrava Open doubles title with fellow American Caty McNally for her maiden title at the WTA level. She is already an accomplished doubles player, ending the season at No. 69 in the WTA doubles rankings.
In singles, Parks won an ITF title in Orlando a couple of years ago, before winning the Andorra Open this Sunday. The new World No. 100 began the 2022 season outside the top 200 in the singles rankings.
Sloane Stephens shows great confidence in Alycia Parks ahead of 2023 season
Just a few days ago, former US Open champion and American tennis superstar Sloane Stephens picked Alycia Parks as one of the two players she believes will be the next breakout star on the WTA circuit.
During an Instagram Q&A session, a fan asked Stephens to name an American player who she believes will make it big on the women's tour. Stephens picked Parks and Katie Volynets, confidently stating that the two youngsters will have a strong 2023 season.
"My two girls. Big year for them coming up. You heard it here first," Stephens wrote in response to the fan's question.
So far, Alycia Parks has played just one singles main draw match in a Grand Slam - at the US Open last season. During her first-round match, Parks tied Venus Williams' record for the fastest serve in US Open women's tennis history at 129 mph.