Alycia Parks took command at the sole grass-court WTA 125 event of the season, capturing both the singles and doubles titles at the Veneto Open promoted by Regione Veneto in Gaiba, Italy this weekend.
Parks triumphed in an all-American final on Sunday, defeating No.8 seed Bernarda Pera 6-3, 6-1 in 68 minutes. In the final, Parks won 86 percent of her first-service points and 84 percent of points returning the Pera second serve, overcoming 13 double faults in the process.
But Parks was very nearly not even in the main draw to begin with. She was top-seeded in qualies, where she had to fend off two match points before defeating Anna Siskova 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(1) to clinch her spot.
After successfully navigating through that peril, 23-year-old Parks powered through five main-draw victories to garner the third WTA 125 singles title of her career. In December of 2022, she won back-to-back WTA 125 titles at Andorra la Vella and Angers.
With the title, Parks boosted her ranking from No.148 to No.121, as she aims to reclaim a spot in the Top 100. Parks peaked at World No.40 in August of 2023, six months after she won the WTA 250 title in Lyon.
On Saturday, Parks teamed with another American, Hailey Baptiste, to win the Gaiba doubles title. Unseeded Baptiste and Parks defeated No.2 seeds Miriam Kolodziejova and Anna Siskova 7-6(4), 6-2 in the final.
After first-round clay-court losses at Roland Garros and WTA 125 Lleida, the Baptiste-Parks team hoisted the trophy on the grass of Gaiba. They kicked off the week with an opening-round win over No.1 seeds Anna Danilina and Xu Yifan.
It is 22-year-old Baptiste's second WTA 125 doubles title, and the third for Parks.
