"My dad made an RV from scratch; I look back and it makes me teary-eyed" - Alycia Parks opens up about initial struggles before WTA breakthrough

American tennis player Alycia Parks recently opened up about the story of how she got into tennis, recalling the struggles she and her parents had to undergo before she made her professional breakthrough.

The 22-year-old from Atlanta is currently ranked 40th on the WTA tour, but she had to grind her way through the rankings to get there.

Parks started telling her story going back to the beginning when she first fell in love with tennis, recalling how her parents supported her from the get-go.

"When I picked up a racquet I always wanted to play pro, so my parents were like -- obviously they saw the potential and they sacrificed a lot," Parks said.

"My mom worked in downtown Atlanta and she was like, if this is something you guys really want to do, then I'm going to support you. You need to be 100% focused on this," she added.

Parks couldn't play wherever she wanted as her funds were limited, but she and her parents managed to make it work regardless.

"We were only driving to the tournaments we could go to. If the tournaments were close we were driving there instead of flying. For most of my career my parents have supported me, especially financially. They didn't really have too much help," Parks said.

Parks' situation, however, changed when she was spotted by the USTA, who wanted to invest in Alycia and her sister.

"I just remember my parents said USTA gave them a call and they kind of scouted me and my sister in a tournament, and they wanted us to move down to Florida and train at the USTA National Tennis Campus," she recalled.

Parks recalled the move being tough on her because she was close to her friends, but ultimately she had to make the decision to go to Florida because she 'wanted to achieve something bigger.'

"Me and my dad got around by, he basically made an RV from scratch. He built shelves and cabinets in there and put in a toilet. He called it a tour bus. I just remember traveling to tournaments, going 16 hours away, and if it rained, then water was dripping in there," Parks remembered.

"On our way back from a tournament the A.C. went out and it was summertime, so those times were not fun. But I look back and it kind of makes me teary-eyed because it was really a struggle. Now I'm flying to places and being in hotel rooms," the American also revealed.

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Alycia Parks won her first WTA title at the 2023 Lyon Open

Alycia Parks at the 2023 National Bank Open Montréal

Alycia Parks' struggles eventually paid off, as she won her first WTA Tour title at the 2023 Lyon Open.

After failing to qualify for the 2023 Australian Open, Parks went to France, where she competed in Lyon. In her first round match, she defeated Julia Grabher, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, and then immediately upset fourth seed Petra Martic, 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-2.

In the quarterfinals, Parks bested Danka Kovinic, 7-5, 6-2, and in the semifinals, she dispatched Maryna Zanevska, 6-3, 7-6(4). In the grand final, the American defeated first seed, Caroline Garcia, 7-6(7), 7-5.

Parks didn't manage to keep up with her good form after Lyon, losing six out of the seven next matches. Most recently, the 22-year-old defeated Vera Zvonareva, 6-3, 6-1, in the first round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, but bowed out in the second round after losing to Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-7(0).

She is still in the doubles draw in Cincinnati, where she and Taylor Townsend will face Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.