Meet Nelly Korda’s biggest fans.
The professional golfer is the daughter of Petr Korda and Regina Rajchrtová, who raised her in Bradenton, Fla.
Korda, who is currently ranked No. 1 on the LPGA Tour and the reigning Olympic gold medalist in golf, grew up in a family of famous athletes, with her parents playing tennis in the 1980s and 1990s.
The golf star shares a close relationship with his parents and siblings. On May 28, she told reporters about her preparations for the 2024 US Women’s Open and opened up about how she “likes to get away and spend time” with her family.
“As a kid, my parents really instilled family values,” Korda said at the US Open press conference. “It was important for us to hang out with family and disconnect from the world,” she said of “recharging our batteries” off the course.
While Korda enjoys home visits to escape the stress of competition, her parents also accompany her to tournaments. Both her mom and dad are often seen cheering their daughter on during games.
Read on to learn more about Nelly Korda’s parents, Petar Korda and Regina Rajchrtová.
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They are from the Czech Republic
Petr Korda hugs his daughter Nelly on the PGA Tour in December 2021.
Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty
Korda’s parents are Czechoslovaks, Petr was born in Prague, and Regina was born in Havlickuv Brod. Each of them represented the country as a professional tennis player in the highest level tournaments around the world, including the Grand Slams and the Olympics.
After the couple retired from tennis, they became United States citizens and settled in Bradenton, Florida. After his retirement, Petr took up golf, a sport that his daughters fell in love with in their youth, and since then they have achieved a lot of success in the game.
Petr won the tennis Australian Open
Petr Korda from the Czech Republic in action during the 1999 Australian Open.
Gary M Prior/Allsport
Petr was a left-handed tennis player who turned professional in 1987. He had outstanding results in the tennis circuit until his retirement in 2005.
Among the many highlights during his professional career were securing a place in the final of the 1992 French Open at Roland Garros and winning the 1998 Australian Open. That year, he reached the highest ranking in his career, number 2 in the world.
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Regina qualified for the Olympics
Nelly Korda celebrates with her mom, Regina, after winning the April 2024 Chevron Championship.
Andy Lyons/Getty
Regina was a star tennis player herself. She had a successful professional career, competing in major Grand Slam tournaments and qualifying for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul where she represented her native Czechoslovakia.
Before retiring, Regina reached a career-high ranking of 26th in the world.
Petr competes with Nelly in golf tournaments
Nelly Korda watches her father, Petr Korda, putt during the final round of the PNC Championship on December 17, 2023.
Mike Mulholland/Getty
Korda has a strong bond with her father, from using him as her carrier during her amateur days to partnering with him in the PNC Championship as a professional. The father-daughter duo first teamed up at the premier golf tournament in December 2021 and have returned to compete in the years since.
“After all these years of watching and supporting us kids from the sidelines in golf and tennis, it’s going to be a lot of fun to be on a team competing together,” Korda said in 2021. Golf Digest. “The whole family can’t wait to enjoy this in the lead up to Christmas.”
Ahead of the 2022 PNC Championships, Korda said at a news conference that she and her dad were “overwhelmed” to be invited back because they “made some really great memories” the first year they competed together. “My dad hits really well. He’s been grinding for the last month.”
Korda and Petr reflected on what they learned from each other’s careers before competing together at the PNC Championship in 2023. “It’s a different set-up,” Petr began about comparing tennis to golf.
“But at the end of the day, you’re under a microscope,” he continued. “Every bad shot or putt is very visible. But when you play well, the glory is yours.” Korda agreed that the “mentality” of playing an individual sport is “most similar” to the “technical” aspect of the game.
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They share three children together
Nelly Korda and her three siblings.
Nelly Korda/Instagram
Petr and Regina are parents of three children. Besides Korda, they have a daughter named Jessica and a son named Sebastian. In keeping with their sports family, each of them is a successful athlete in his own right.
Sebastian is a professional tennis player with a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 23 in October 2023. He also won the 2018 Australian Open title.
Jessica, meanwhile, is a golfer on the LPGA Tour who competes alongside Korda. She turned heads when she won the 2021 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in dramatic fashion, sinking a 25-footer to beat a field that included her younger sister.
The win was memorable for Jessica, who secured the title in front of her family in America. “This is only my second win in the U.S.,” she recalled to PEOPLE in 2021.
“Because I didn’t win much in the US, I couldn’t have my parents around,” she continued. “They’ve watched me win in junior golf, but never as a pro. It was really cool to have them play the last round with my sister there.”
Despite competing against her sister, Jessica told PEOPLE that she and Korda are each other’s biggest fans. “Everyone always tries to push us against each other and we always disappoint everyone when we say that we are each other’s biggest supporters,” she said.
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Source: HIS Education