Alycia Parks’ came to the limelight when she tied Venus Williams for the second-fastest serve ever struck at the 2021 US Open with a 129 mph first serve. Since then she has gone from strength to strength with her father Michael Parks, right behind her. Parks, a former professional basketball player, has coached her daughter since her childhood.
At 23, Parks is an exciting young talent to watch out for. She had her best showing in a Grand Slam, reaching the third round of the ongoing Australian Open before her winning streak was ended by her compatriot Coco Gauff. Parks’ career in tennis has been guided by her father, who has been her long-time coach.
The American tennis sensation took to tennis at a very young age but in an unconventional manner. In an interview with Tennis.com Podcast, Michael Parks revealed how both his daughters took up tennis owing to her good grades in school.
Narrating the story, her father said, “They made As and Bs (in school), and so my wife took them to the toy store. And Alycia, of course, it takes her forever to find out what she wants. So when she made good grades, my wife went there and bought tennis racquets.” Parks then mentioned how surprised he was when he saw his daughter play. Parks explained, “She (Parks’ wife) called me and said Mike you gotta see her play tennis. I said, ‘these kids can’t play tennis.’ So when I went out there they were rallying 150 balls back and forth and I was amazed.”
Parks then took on the coaching responsibility of her daughters but it wasn’t an easy route. Since he had not played the sport professionally, he sought help from expert coaches but found it challenging. To find a solution, Parks took matters into his own hands. He said, “I then started looking up certain things with Venus and Serena and trying to learn the technique and things on my own. I started reading at that time, me and wife.” When we did that being an athlete from North Carolina it was kinda easy, because there it’s all about technique.”
Alycia Parks started playing tennis at the age of 7 and instantly found interest in it. Subsequently, when her father identified her special talent, they moved to Florida when Parks was 10. This was done to ensure that she obtained better facilities and developed her game. Alycia’s elder sister Mikayla also played tennis until 2016 before she stepped away due to personal reasons.
But Alycia Parks continued her journey and is starting to make inroads on the court, with her father beside her. Michael often travels with her at tournaments, giving valuable support to her. While her father has stayed in a coaching capacity with her, he also recognizes the inputs from coaches like Rodney Harmon, Scott Beard, and Rick Macci that have helped his daughter’s progress.
Alycia Parks at 23 has a singles and doubles title to her name. She has often credited her family for her success and recalled her family’s struggle in an interview a few months ago.
Parks recalls her family’s sacrifices
The Parks family shifted to a new city so that the two sisters could fulfill their tennis dreams. Their parents had to adjust to the new lifestyle while Alycia and Mikayla were busy pursuing the sport.
Narrating her family’s struggle, Alycia Parks once said,
“When I picked up a racket I always wanted to play professionally, so my parents were like — obviously they saw the potential and they sacrificed a lot. I just remember my parents saying USTA gave them a call and they kind of scouted me and my sister in a tournament, and they wanted us to move to Florida and train with them at the USTA National Tennis Campus.”
