Training · March 1, 2026 · 4 min read
129 mph: the serve that announced Alycia Parks
Photo: Hameltion, US Open 2023, New York. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped.
At the 2021 US Open, in her first Grand Slam main draw match, Alycia Parks hit a 129 mph serve. It tied the fastest serve by a woman that the tournament had ever recorded, matching a mark set by Venus Williams.
The serve is the signature of a game built on first strike tennis: big targets, early aggression and no hesitation. It carried her to her first WTA title in Lyon in 2023, where she beat world No. 5 Caroline Garcia in the final, and to a career high ranking of No. 40.
The number traveled further than the scoreline that day. It put her name next to Venus Williams in the record book before most fans had seen her play a full match, and it remains the calling card of one of the biggest serves in the women's game.
