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Alycia Parks teamed up with Belgian veteran Yanina Wickmayer to play doubles at the 2023 China Open. While their stay in the competition ended in the first round itself, the match did not lack drama, and that caught the eye of tennis fans.
Parks and Wickmayer faced former two-time Roland Garros doubles champion Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in the opening round in Beijing. The American-Belgian duo took the first set 6-2 and appeared on the verge of winning the contest, but Garcia/Mladenovic saved a match point at 5-3, 40-40 in the second set.
The French pair eventually came through in the tiebreaker and then the subsequent match tiebreaker too, to win 2-6, 7-6 (5), 10-6.
During the second set, there seemed to be some disagreement between Parks and Wickmayer. The two were filmed having an argument, with the latter walking away and shaking her head.
In another video, Wickmayer was seen staring down at Parks while sitting at their bench during the changeover. These incidents left tennis fans amused and puzzled.
Many found the exchange to be funny and dramatic. Others questioned why the two women partnered up in the first place if they did not have a strong understanding.
Alycia Parks and Yanina Wickmayer also played doubles at the Guadalajara Open, and won their first-round match in Mexico.
"This is so funny??? I want to be a fly to fly around them and know what happened," wrote one fan.
"This is so dramatic for no reason," joked another fan.
Here are some more reactions:
Alycia Parks won her first WTA Tour title in 2023
2023 has been a breakout year for Alycia Parks, who has made her mark on the WTA Tour with some impressive performances. The young American first burst on the scene at the 2022 Ostrava Open, where she defeated Karolina Pliskova and Maria Sakkari en route to her first-ever WTA Tour quarterfinal.
She has built on her progress from 2022 this year, winning her first tour-level tournament at the Lyon Open. The 22-year-old defeated top seed Caroline Garcia 7-6 (7), 7-5 to triumph at the ATP 250 tournament.
She also reached the third round at the Madrid Open and the quarterfinal at the Morocco Open. These results have seen Parks break into the top 50 of the WTA rankings for the first time in her career. She is currently ranked World No. 43.
Alycia Parks has also tasted success in the doubles format, winning the WTA 1000 title at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati with Taylor Townsend. Parks currently occupies the World No. 27 spot in the doubles rankings.
