Alycia Parks Hints at the Return of Serena Williams to Tennis

Alycia Parks has admitted that she sometimes practices with Serena Williams three times a week.

Alycia Parks Hints at the Return of Serena Williams to Tennis

Serena Williams and Alycia Parks (Via Alycia Parks - IG)

In Short
  • Alycia Parks hints at Serena Williams' potential return to tennis after recent practice sessions.
  • Williams' name has reappeared on the ITIA anti-doping testing pool list, fueling comeback rumors.
  • Parks reached out to train with Williams, who has been helping her improve her game.

Rumors about Serena Williams making a comeback to professional tennis have grown stronger. WTA star Alycia Parks has opened up about one of her practice sessions with Williams earlier this year and hints that the 23-time Grand Slam champion looks great to make a return to tour.

The rumors gained momentum last December, when it was reported that Williams’ name appeared on the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) anti-doping testing pool list. Last month, her name appeared as a reinstated on the ITIA website, the first time since retiring from the sport in 2022.

The hottest discussion since then has been about when, and if, Williams would return to tour this season. Novak Djokovic hinted that the former World No.1 might partner with her sister, Venus Williams, in the doubles ahead of the Wimbledon Championships. Parks had earlier opened up that she had trained with Serena Williams.

But Williams is yet to give a definite answer about her comeback. When quizzed about it in a recent interview, she noted that she’s enjoying her time away from the sport. Meanwhile, Parks claimed her opening match win at the Miami Open after beating qualifier Sinja Kraus 7-5, 7-6(4) to seal her place in the second round.

After the win, she sat down with Tennis Channel’s Steve Weissman, who then asked about her practice sessions with Serena Williams. Parks explained that the practice session has been great and that the former US Open champion looks fit on the training court. She added that she’s yet to know when Williams will come back to tour:

She’s hitting good. She’s definitely fit. She looks great, and she’s hitting the ball. No practice sets (between us). Just games, like groundstroke games. I think we’re tied (in the score) right now. I don’t know if she’s coming back. I don’t know when she’s coming back. We just go to practice. We don’t really talk about too much of her coming back.

Last month, Williams’ former coach Rick Macci speculated that she could be back on the court during the Sunshine Doubles. That obviously is not happening as Williams was not included in the draw for the ongoing Miami Open. However, Parks looks more to learning from Williams than asking her about her potential comeback to professional tennis.

Alycia Parks says she was the one who messaged Serena Williams to train with her

The influence of the practice sessions with Serena Williams has begun to translate into match situations for Alycia Parks. With several areas of her game open to improvement, her time with Williams has focused on developing her tactics and patterns on the court, while also helping the former World No.1 return to her best physical and technical level ahead of a potential comeback.

Alycia Parks
Alycia Parks (Image via X/Tennis Channel)

During the aforementioned interview, Parks explained that she was the one who reached out to Williams to see if they could train together. She then added that Williams has been helping her since then on the training court and that they train about three times a week, when she’s in the United States of America:

Yeah, I did text her when I was, I think, in the Middle East, and I was like, hey, like, can you practice when I come back to the states? And she was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’ So we got in a few sessions, and yeah, she’s been helping me. When I’m home, I would say probably [practice] three times a week.

Parks will face Maria Sakkari in the second round of the Miami Open. The two players have met just once on tour, which came at the 2022 Ostrava Open, which Parks won in three sets. The winner between Parks and Sakkari will face either American star Coco Gauff or Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the third round.

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