One of the biggest names in women’s golf is Nelly Korda. The world No. 1 is just 24 years old and has already earned herself many names on the LPGA Tour. She is now competing in the PNC Championship, teamed up with her father, Petr Korda. Many in the sports world may find her father’s name rather familiar, and that would be because he too was a professional athlete. Was he as big a name as his daughter? Let’s find out.
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Petr Korda is a former left-handed tennis pro. In his prime, he was a tennis superstar from the Czech Republic. Korda had captured the attention of the entire tennis world as a junior player, and in 1984, at age 16, he became the Czech 18s junior champion.
In 1985, Korda paired up with Cyril Suk to win the French Open junior doubles. The duo was also the top-ranked junior doubles team in the world. In 1986, Korda and Tomas Carbonell teamed up to win the Wimbledon junior doubles title.
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The Czech tennis star turned professional in 1987, winning his first career doubles title the following year and his first singles title four years later, in 1991. In his 12-year career, Korda won a total of both 10 singles titles and 10 doubles titles.
The father of Nelly Korda, Petr Korda’s biggest career achievement
In 1998, Petr won the first and only grand slam title of his career. Korda faced off against Marcelo Rios in the finals of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park. The Czech player beat Rios to grab his grand slam. He said after, “I didn’t believe it could happen; it’s like a dream.”
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His victory propelled him to the second position in the world rankings, the highest ranking in his career. Unfortunately, following a huge controversy related to a drug test at the 1998 Wimbledon, Petr Korda announced his retirement in the summer of 1999.
He married the former tennis star, Regina Rajchrtova, and the couple have tow other children besides Nelly, who is the middle child. Jessica Korda is their eldest daughter, who is also a professional golfer and plays alongside Nelly on the LPGA Tour. Their youngest is their son, Sebastian Korda, who followed in his parent’s footsteps and is a professional tennis player.
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Despite his list of career achievements, Petr claims his family is his biggest accomplishment. He certainly hopes all his children have fantastic careers and go on to surpass his own. Do you think they will be able to? Let us know in the comments below.