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The 22-year-old Parks beat the 2022 WTA Finals
champion 7-6(7) 7-5 on Sunday for her first top-five win, rising
to a career-high ranking of 51 in the world from 79 to emerge as
the latest young player from the U.S. to make a mark on the
tour.
Having given fans a glimpse of her talent by beating world
number seven Maria Sakkari and former world No. 1 Karolina
Pliskova in Ostrava last year, Parks said it felt amazing to
hold her first WTA trophy.
"Words can't explain it. Just last year, I was in an (ITF
Challenger) $60,000 final and now I have won a WTA 250," said
Parks, who hit 28 winners in the Lyon final, including 15 aces.
"I made sure I focused on my service games to get through,
because I knew it wasn't going to be an easy match. So staying
within myself and fighting for every point, and that got me
through the match.
Structure to her training days helped, she said.
"The key to a successful week for me was keeping the same
routine. I wake up around the same time every morning and eat
the same breakfast, same dinner. Basically doing the same
routine, try to make it a habit if it's working."
The rise of Parks comes at a promising time for American tennis,
with 13 men's players and 12 women's players all inside the top
60 of the ATP and WTA rankings.
Speaking ahead of the Australian Open qualifying competition
last month, Parks outlined her lofty ambitions for 2023.
"The next short goal is 50," Parks had said in Sydney. "But I
definitely see myself as top 10 this year."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by
Bernadette Baum)
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