At the ongoing Australian Open, American tennis was hoping to see the likes of Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and others shine and bring the title home. However, deep behind them, was a player eagerly waiting to mark her arrival into the professional tennis scene, Alycia Parks. Rising through the ranks, she has left a great mark so far and has made her way into the third round of the tournament. However, her tennis journey is not the same as compared to many players.

During the early years of her career, she followed the same path as one of her idols Venus Williams. Reflecting on the same, Parks, in an interview talked about her early tennis days while showing how she skipped junior tournaments and directly hopped into the professional tennis scene.

Alycia Parks’ tennis journey takes a cue from Venus Williams

Alycia Parks didn’t follow the usual path of playing lots of junior tennis, and it turns out that she shares this unique route with tennis icon Venus Williams. When she was younger, her dad decided to skip junior tournaments to avoid potential injuries while focusing on her overall development. This decision sounded similar to Venus Williams’ early years in tennis.

Both Parks and Venus chose to dive straight into the professional tennis scene while skipping the junior tournaments. So, that was her goal right from the start, to focus on playing professional tennis and make their mark in it.

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“Yes. My dad took me out of the juniors only because I was growing so fast, and he didn’t want me to get injured. He wanted me to develop. I always wanted to go pro, and that was the goal eversince I picked up the racquet. So I think it panned outwell, and I wouldn’t take any different route.” said Parks in the interview.

Thus, Alycia Parks took a different route and it paid her off. While many aspiring players were busy playing the junior tournaments, she was working on her overall development and was eager to leave a mark on professional tennis.

While talking about how she likes to grip up for the match, she revealed how Serena Williams has been a defining factor in it. However, her approach to following her idol is a little unique.

‘Didn’t Know Who Venus and Serena Williams Were’- Alycia Parks’ Blunt Statement in Australia Last Year on Her Inspiring Tennis Journey

Parks reflects on how she likes to prepare for matches

In the same interview, Alycia Parks revealed her admiration for Serena Williams and suggested that she likes to watch a lot of matches played by the 23-time Grand Slam winner. She further added that while she is not much into practicing it, watching her idol’s matches gives her an idea of how she should carry her matches.

“I would say not so much practice. I like to watch Serena’s matches, which I actually ran across one of her matches maybe two days ago. But I think Serena, yeah, I like to watch her matches a lot,” said Parks in the interview.

Thus, Alycia Parks has a unique connection with the Williams sisters. While her early tennis journey was the same as that of Venus, her current journey takes inspiration from Serena Williams.

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