Alycia Parks delighted to have father back cheering her on in Madrid

Alycia Parks stated that she was glad to have her father back on the sidelines during the Madrid Open.

Parks' father Michael, who was also her childhood coach, was involved in a controversial incident during the 22-year-old's match against Katherine Sebov during an ITF tournament in Las Vegas back in 2019.

After beating Parks in the second-round match, Sebov aggressively squeezed the American's thumb during their post-match handshake, causing Parks to react as they walked off the court. A heated argument ensued and Sebov then pushed Parks twice before officials defused the situation. Parks' father intervened, joining the players on court and screaming for Sebov to be forfeited.

Nearly four years on, Michael Parks was seen cheering for his daughter in her box once again, and was present when she beat former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 7-6(5) to book her place in the third round of the Madrid Open.

Alycia Parks spoke to Tennis Channel's Prakash Amritraj after her win and said that the WTA 1000 event was the first tournament since the Las Vegas incident where her father was back on the sidelines. The World No. 40 claimed that she wouldn't want to have anyone else by her side.

"I'm just happy that I got through the match and this is kind of my first tournament with my dad back on the sidelines. Even though it has been kind of tough, I wouldn't want to have anyone else rather than him on the sidelines to cheer me on," Parks said.

Alycia Parks will face Martina Trevisan in the third round of the Madrid Open

Alycia Parks in action at the Linz Open

After beating Victoria Azarenka, Alycia Parks will next face 18th seed Martina Trevisan in the third round of the Madrid Open. The Italian booked her place in the Round of 32 of the WTA 1000 event with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Eugenie Bouchard.

It will be the very first meeting between the two, and the winner of the match will face either third seed Jessica Pegula or 29th seed Marie Bouzkova in the fourth round of the Madrid Open.

Alycia Parks is also competing in the women's doubles event at the WTA 1000 tournament with Slovakia's Tereza Mihailikova as her partner. The pair will face the Russian-Georgian duo of Yana Sizikova and Oksana Kalashnikova in the opening round, with the winner taking on either Miami Open runners-up Leylah Fernandez and Taylor Townsend or second seeds Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok in the second round.