"My mum loved Federer and Nadal" - When Nelly Korda credited tennis legends for shaping her sporting character

Nelly Korda has cemented her legacy in golf. She started competing at the professional level in 2016 and has since won 20 tournaments, including 15 on the LPGA Tour.

However, besides her love for golf, Korda is strongly connected with tennis. Her father Petr is a former professional tennis player, while her brother, Sebastian Korda, plays the sport professionally. She grew up watching tennis and has mentioned that she found inspiration in tennis legends.

In one of her interviews with HSBC on March 4, 2023, Korda talked about her upbringing and how she idolized tennis legends Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and took inspiration from them. She said (at 2:46):

"I feel like we live in our own little bubble. Like, we were raised to be humble and kind, and I looked up to the drive of Nadal and the elegance of Federer. My mum loved Federer and Nadal, so I feel like the demeanor that they had kind of made sure we had that—respecting everyone and appreciating everything that we have.

The way that we grew up, we just kind of brought it out here. For us, it's just like, we hope that people can see that and they can adapt to that as well and maybe grow the game that way."

Nelly Korda's sister Jessica is also a professional golfer.

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"We were never pushed into tennis" – When Nelly Korda talked about pursuing golf as her career

Nelly Korda joined her father Petr to play at the 2024 PNC Championship, and during the press conference, she reflected on her sports journey. In the press conference on December 20, 2024, her father was asked if he had pushed her towards tennis or golf.

However, Petr asked Nelly to answer the question, and in response, the Rolex World No. 1 said she was not pushed into tennis but was passionate about golf, and thus, that was the "route" she took.

"Golf was something that he started playing after tennis, and it was something that we could all do together. My sister is five years older than I am, and she was definitely one of my role models in life, so anything she did, I wanted to do. It was a great time for us to spend great quality family time together.

But yeah, we were never pushed into tennis. We skied in the winters. I figure skated. I did gymnastics. We kind of dabbled a little bit in everything. But at the end of the day, we were passionate about golf, and that's the route that we took," Nelly Korda said.

Korda has a decorated career in golf. At 26, she has won two Majors and several other tournaments. She was awarded the LPGA Tour Player of the Year in 2024 for her impressive season which had seven tournament wins.