There was a time when Sebastian Korda seemed like the best choice for the United States to end its nearly two-decade search for a Major champion in men’s singles. He broke out at the 2020 French Open by reaching the fourth round and repeated it a year later at Wimbledon. This was even before current top-10 players Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton could show similar results.
But persistent injuries took their toll and Korda, who reached world number 15 last August, is now 60. His superb all-court skills, relatively young age of 25 and excellent sporting genes – father Petr, however, won the 1998 Australian Open; mother Regina Rajchrtova was a top-30 player and sisters Jessica and Nelly are both LPGA golf professionals, with the latter a two-time Major winner and former world number 1 – meaning he is still looked to with hope.
Korda has spoken The Hindu about his growing up years, the influence of his family, his career so far and the state of men’s tennis. Fragments:
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In August 2024, you won your biggest title at the Washington 500 and climbed to the best position of your career. But since then you’ve had a lot of injuries. How do you rate the past twelve months?
It has been the most difficult period of my career. I’ve had elbow surgery, an abdominal tear, a stress fracture in my shin… but I have great people around me and they make it easier. As an athlete all you want to do is practice, play and enjoy yourself. But I didn’t succeed at all. So yeah, kind of taking a step back and trying to stay positive.
You reached the fourth round of the French Open in 2020, and the fourth round of Wimbledon the following year. How have you transformed as a player from then to now?
My body has completely changed. I was extremely thin and inexperienced at the time. I’m definitely not as young as I was, but I still feel like I’m one of the younger guys on the market [ATP] Tour. I’m still super excited to go to every tournament and practice. Hopefully I keep going in the right direction and the results will follow.
In 2021 you reached the final of the ATP Next Gen tournament, but lost to Carlos Alcaraz. But his career has gone one way and yours has gone another. Is it frustrating or motivating to feel that you were once equal to him and that you could very well achieve what he and others have set out to do?
Of course it’s frustrating not to be where they are, but every journey is completely different. I’m still 25 and hope I can continue playing tennis for another 10, 15 years, reach a better ranking and compete with them regularly. Hopefully I still have many of my best years ahead of me. The most important thing is that I have to stay healthy, because when I am healthy I can play tennis very well.
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Australia is a place where you have had good results, having reached the Adelaide 250 final twice (2023 and 2025). In the 2023 final against Novak Djokovic you had a match point in the second set. What do performances like these tell you?
It’s super motivating. When you get great results and really compete with the best in the world, that’s a big positive. You learn so much, like Novak does in certain situations. He played a certain style of play until match point. And then he completely changes and does something completely different. It’s a big learning curve. How they figure things out and change things along the way.
You seem to be quite adept on all surfaces. Does it come naturally?
My parents raised me with clay, and I played with it until I was fourteen. It was green clay, a little different, but still clay. You will learn how to use the court in a different way and all different types of shots to get across the line.
How has it helped you transition to other surfaces?
You learn patience. You have to go to the net at the right times. If you don’t, you will be passed over very easily. And you spin the ball, cut, drop shot… you learn a lot. It’s just a lot of feeling. And when you have a good feeling, you go to the grass and you can go to the net a little more and that helps you. Having that versatility is essential.
Matching: The 2023 Adelaide ATP 250 final, which Korda lost to Novak Djokovic in a close three-setter, was proof enough that the young American had the game to excel in the upper echelons of men’s tennis | Photo credit: Getty Images
In this century, tennis has had many players who are good on all surfaces. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic, Andy Murray and now Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. What do you put it down to?
Players adapt extremely well. It’s rare that someone takes a photo that isn’t of a really high caliber. Previously, if someone didn’t have a good backhand, opponents would chase that shot all the time. But now everyone moves very well, serves well… it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make one more bad chance. This way you become more of an all-round player [to beat that guy]. In a sense, everyone helps each other.
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Contrasting trajectories: In the 2021 Next Gen Finals, Korda came second to Alcaraz. But the Spaniard then rose to great heights, while injuries marred Korda’s progress | Photo credit: Getty Images
With Federer and Nadal retiring and Djokovic closer to the end, men’s tennis would be up and down. Did you expect Alcaraz and Sinner to take it to such a high level so quickly?
It was quite exceptional. Roland-Garros was one of the best Slam finals in a long time, and to maintain that intensity and maintain that level for five hours and twenty minutes is extraordinary. So they have set the bar to a certain standard, and everyone is doing their very best to reach that level and hopefully not allow them to split the Grand Slams every year! But it doesn’t matter whether you are in 80th or 20th place, the difference is so small. Obviously someone is dominating at the top, but it’s very competitive for everyone else around.
How has your family’s sports background helped?
The most important thing for my parents was to keep us active as kids – throw ourselves into every sport possible, learn all the mechanics and all the basics and then use it in your own sporting life. Growing up playing [ice] I learned a lot of balance in hockey and that helps me to be in a neutral position on a tennis court. Golf teaches you patience, and it helps a lot that my sisters are individual athletes. We go through the same things, and I can ask them questions to help me. Since both my parents are tennis players, it helps because they’ve been through everything I’m going through and they just don’t want me to make the same mistakes.
What are your short and long term goals?
The goal right now is to finish the season. It’s been a long year. Mentally it was a huge challenge. I would like to end the year playing every tournament and we’ll see where it takes me.
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