Parks, Lys overcome struggles to qualify for Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON — Between January and May, Alycia Parks found herself in the doldrums. She endured a 13-match losing streak, a far cry from her breakthrough WTA title in Lyon the previous year, and her ranking plummeted out of the Top 100.

The turnaround, when it eventually came, was like whiplash. Just over a week ago, Parks found herself facing two match points against Anna Siskova in the first round of qualifying for the Gaiba WTA 125 event. She saved both — and went on to win the title. The American has carried her form over into Wimbledon qualifying, where she ended the run of 15-year-old wild card Hannah Klugman 6-3, 6-3 to make the main draw. Parks is now on a nine-match winning streak.

2023 Scouting Report: Alycia Parks

Parks is certain about why her fortunes have flipped. Her father, Michael, had stopped coaching her due to an illness, but they resumed traveling together at Roland Garros.

“I was on a losing streak because I didn’t have my dad in the picture,” Parks said after defeating Tereza Martincova in the second round. “I had to go back to what made me win, and he knows me more than anyone else. When I was on a losing streak I was losing a bit of motivation. I didn’t know why or what it was. So I was like, ‘OK, let me go back to my basics.’ My dad, like they say, brings the dog out of me. I know I have that in me, so that’s what it was.

“He kept saying at Nottingham [where Parks fell in the first round to eventual finalist Karolina Pliskova]’Give me one week, just me and you, and you’re gonna win the tournament.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know about that.’ Then last week, I won both singles and doubles.”

Now, Parks’s confidence is sky-high again, and she’s keen to do some damage in the main draw.

“I’m looking forward to being the old Alycia,” she said. “I’m riding the wave.”

Lys shakes off health struggles to defeat Anisimova

In March this year, rising German talent Eva Lys revealed that she had been diagnosed with spondyloarthritis, a rheumatic autoimmune condition, in 2020, and had been dealing with it as she tried to forge a professional athletic career.

“I didn’t make it public to get pity from everyone else,” Lys said after defeating Amanda Anisimova 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Wimbledon main draw. “I was just getting questions about why my schedule isn’t like other players.”

2023 Scouting Report: Eva Lys

After completing her set of qualifying for each of the four Grand Slams, there was no trace of feeling sorry for herself in the 22-year-old. Asked if she had ever felt she had been dealt an unfair hand of health, her reply was firm.

“Never,” she said. “Unfairness is a tough word to say because a lot of players are struggling with their own issues. You don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors, and not everyone is sharing everything. And a lot of people in the world don’t even have the capability to play tennis.”

Lys had found that the hardest aspect of dealing with spondyloarthritis was her inability to match the standards she saw top players set in practice.

“I was unhappy that I couldn’t do as much or be as intense,” she said. “So one thing I learned is not to look at other players. If I hit a wall I need to listen to my body, and the most important thing for me is recovery.”

Inspired by players such as Venus Williams and Danielle Collins going public with their own health conditions, Lys hopes to set a similar example.

“It’s great to see that other players who have health conditions can still perform at their best,” she said. “It’s somehow also my message. It’s not an easy way for me, but nothing’s impossible, and I still have a big chance of getting where I want to be.”

Lys had low expectations of qualifying this week — as a player who prides herself on her return, seeing grass help her opponents’ serves whizz past her was tough. But she turned to fellow Germans Tatjana Maria and Jule Niemeier, both of whom thrive on the surface, for tips.

“Tatjana was maybe not the best pick,” Lys said with a laugh. “She’s playing so differently to me. I’m not going to slice it like her. But Jule, she gave me good tips. The main one was to just to take it easy on yourself, and even to laugh if you make mistakes.”

Other notable third-round qualifying results

Klugman’s head-turning run may have come to an end, but Sonay Kartal continued to fly the flag for home wild cards, upsetting No.5 seed Erika Andreeva 6-3, 6-1.

This time last year, Todoni’s hip was playing ITF W15s in her native Romania; two weeks ago, she had never set foot on a grass court. But the big-serving 19-year-old has taken to the surface quickly and powered past Nuria Parrizas Diaz 6-2, 6-4 to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut.

Fellow 19-year-old Marina Stakusic will also play her first Grand Slam main draw after racing past wild card Amarni Banks 6-3, 6-0. Stakusic came to prominence last November as she played a key role in Canada’s Billie Jean King Cup victory.

‘s-Hertogenbosch quarterfinalist Robin Montgomery continued her recent upswing, defeating Valentina Ryser 7-6(3), 6-2 to reach the Wimbledon main draw for the first time.

Three weeks ago, Daria Snigur upset Marta Kostyuk in the first round of Nottingham to improve her record against Top 20 players to a perfect 3-0. The Ukrainian, who was the Wimbledon junior champion in 2019, came from 4-0 down in the second set and 4-1 down in the decider to defeat Zeynep Sonmez 1-6, 7-5, 7-5, and will be an opponent to avoid for many seeds.