Jessica and Nelly Korda: Two sisters striking a chord in women's golf

Golf’s sister act Jessica Korda and Nelly Korda are not alone in America’s rich history of sporting siblings.

There are the trailblazing Williams sisters and the Bryan brothers in tennis, plus basketball's Reggie and Cheryl Miller, and Al Joyner and Jackie Joyner-Kersee in athletics, all of whom have won Olympic gold medals.

The Kordas are not even the only siblings in their own sport with Thailand boasting two-time major winner Ariya Jutanugarn and sister Moriya.

What sets the Korda sisters apart is not the familial bond they have in common with others, but rather the way they have used it to carve out a path different from the one most would have expected.

Now comfortably both at the top of the golfing game, read on to keep up with the Kordas.

Teeing off, one after the other

It was, in all banality, a matter of convenience that Nelly started playing golf.

Her sister Jessica, five years her senior, had begun to properly commit to the sport, which meant, for the parents, hours of overseeing their eldest master her craft.

As they watched, it struck them that their six-year-old younger daughter needed occupying while they waited, so why not also golf?

It was a question that those famous tennis-playing parents - Grand Slam winning Petr Korda and former world number 26 Regina Korda (neé Rajchrtova) - probably thought they would never ask themselves. For a start, the former men's world number two had pegged golf as a retirement sport.

The couple had encouraged all their children, from a young age, to try a variety of sports, especially those which involved striking a ball.

As for protecting the tennis dimension of their legacy, their youngest son Sebastian solved any tension there when, unlike his sisters, he opted for a racquet over a club.

So it was decided that Petr and Regina would raise their daughters to dominate the course.

Competitors? Yes. Companions? Always.

Fast-forward the clock a few years, 28-year-old Jessica and 22-year-old Nelly are both enjoying successful professional careers.

Although often mistaken for one another courtesy of their similar tall height and hair colour, there is nothing mistakable about their golfing prowess. The sisters boast 11 LPGA tour wins between them, with Jessica leading the way with a total of six.

How far does their competitive nature go?

“People like to put us against each other all the time to see if they can spark a rivalry or something. But we just keep disappointing everybody,” Jessica shared with Golf Digest.

“We have little side bets here and there,” Nelly confessed before adding, “at the end of the day, we want the best for each other, even though we want to beat each other as well.”

Far from adversaries, the reality is the sisters’ relationship is tight knit.

Jessica and Nelly have a group chat with their brother that they use every day to connect. The chat, aptly called ‘The Trio’, works as a support system so the three can urge each other on.

With Sebastian currently breaking through in the world of tennis, the Korda children are familiar with the demands of professional sport. Sometimes the chat involves distracting one another the night before a big performance, other times it is about reassurance.

Another way the sisters manage their relationship and the toll the LPGA tour can take with all its travel demands is rooted in advice gifted to them by their parents: “You’re always competing against the golf course.”

The challenge is not to their right or left or wherever the other is, but rather it is in how they hope to succeed what they both have set out achieve.

The Family Slam

“Korda wins Australian Open” – is a line that has been written a remarkable four times.

The first in 1998, when Petr defeated Marcelo Rios to clinch his maiden slam Down Under. The second in 2012, when eldest daughter Jessica won golf's Women's Australian Open. In 2018 it was declared again after Sebastian won the boys' singles Australian Open title just five days shy of the 20th anniversary of his father winning it. Then finally a fourth time in 2019, when Nelly repeated her sister’s feat and took her own Australian Open.

Keeping it in the family is something the Kordas take very seriously, and after each member of the family won their respective Australia crown each performed the traditional scissor kick. A trend started by Korda senior.

Major expectations

Something still missing from both Korda sisters’ resumés is a major.

Nelly has so far come the closest after she tied for second in the 2020 ANA Inspiration. The only two-time tour winner in 2021 is now the highest ranked women’s golfer not to have won a major. As for older sister Jessica she has, at best, only ever tied fourth in a major.

The agonising wait for golf’s greatest tour prize continues for both sisters.

With golf’s return to the Olympic arena at Rio 2016, the Kordas may find themselves with a medal before a major. 

With the way rankings are currently sitting, both sisters will qualify for Team USA’s golf team at Tokyo 2020, in 2021, Nelly as the highest ranking and Jessica the lowest.

Neither sister will be the first Olympian in the family. That is an accolade the belongs to mum, Regina. But in a family where sporting achievement is hardly a novelty perhaps an Olympic medal, or two, can become the greatest trump card yet.