“It’s coming together,” Parks said of her clay-court game. “You just have to build the point. I have to tell myself that it’s not going to be serve plus one all the time … I just tell myself to relax out there, that it’s not going to be three shots. That’s not how you’re going to play on clay, so that’s what I’ve been working on.
“I was struggling a little bit in Linz, but I went to Stuttgart and I was like … ‘How do I put points together on clay?’ So I’ve been watching a lot of tennis on this surface, and it’s been getting me through matches.”
In Parks’ tournament debut in 2023, she upset Victoria Azarenka, then seeded No. 15, en route to the third round. She’ll hope to match that result with an upset of fellow American Ann Li, the No. 31 seed, next.
