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Coco Gauff and Alycia Parks: Friends for a decade, opponents for the first time

Haley Fuller | January 18, 2024

The first-ever singles meeting between Americans Coco Gauff and Alycia Parks will take place on one of tennis’ biggest stages. But that doesn't mean that being across the net from each other is totally new to them. 

 

In fact, they've been crossing paths for about a decade. Both athletes have trained in Florida—Gauff calls Delray Beach home, and Parks relocated to the area for her training when she was 10 years old.

 

“I have known her for a long time, since I was maybe 9 years old. Used to practice with her and her sister,” Gauff said Wednesday after beating another American, Caroline Dolehide, to set up the match. “I know her very well. I always root for her ... obviously, not for the next match.”

Parks, who is three years Gauff's senior, soon followed her into the interview room, but confessed to falling short of that level of recall.

 

"That was so long ago," she said. "I don't really remember the training part. I just remember practicing the next court over from her.”

 

But both Americans agreed that they were looking forward to the match, and a chance to reach the fourth round of the year's first Grand Slam. While they've never met in singles, they did meet in the first round of mixed doubles at the last major: Parks and Denis Kudla got the better of Gauff and Jack Sock, nine days before Gauff lifted the US Open singles trophy. 

 

But even though the most recent major champion is ranked nearly 80 spots above Parks, she is not underestimating her compatriot’s ability to compete at the top of the sport, especially after her straight-sets defeat of the Leylah Fernandez, the 32nd seed and 2021 US Open finalist.

Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images.

“She has a big game, big serve, big shots, very athletic. I think she's one of the most, if not the most, athletic players on tour. It's going to be a tough match. I don't expect it to be easy,” Gauff said.

 

“I've never played her in practice or anything. We're both going in, not blind because we obviously watched each other, but never hit or anything. She's a great player, and I always knew she was going to do well on tour. It was just a matter of when it was all going to align.”

 

Slim margins will likely decide the match. Parks, making her Aussie Open main-draw debut, is the tournament’s female leader in aces, with 23 across two matches. Both Americans are also at the top of the serving speed leaderboard: Gauff’s serve has reached speeds of 123 miles per hour in the fortnight so far, and Parks is just behind her, at 122 mph.

Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images.

In just her fourth Grand Slam main-draw appearance, this is the first time Parks has reached the third round of a major, and it comes nearly a year after she announced herself by winning her first WTA singles title in Lyon last Feburary. There, she beat home favorite Caroline Garcia in the final, and Parks says she’s ready to go toe-to-toe with Gauff—especially because playing on bigger courts with larger crowds helps her get into the zone and focus on the match.

 

She'll get Melbourne's second-biggest stage, Margaret Court Arena, to showcase her skills as she bids for her third career Top 10 victory. 

 

“I think both of us are doing actually pretty well," Parks said. "I know everyone else wants to see the matchup, but I think it's pretty good to run across her in a Slam, third round. I mean, I guess we're both going to go out there and play our games and see where it goes.”

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