Petr Korda

Born: January 23, 1968 in Praha
Height: 1.91 m
Plays: Left-handed

“I was waiting for this a long, long time. What we went through was unbelievable. I didn’t believe it could happen. It’s a dream come true,” said Korda after winning the Australian Open ’98 at the age of 30, echoing Andrés Gómez’s story (French Open ’90) of claiming a maiden major title after nearly a decade of competing at the highest level. Unlike Gómez, who had failed to reach even a semifinal in 26 major attempts before his French Open triumph, Korda had already played one final in his 33 previous Grand Slam appearances. Born in Prague (a rarity among top Czech players), Korda began his tennis journey under the guidance of his father: “Because of him, I’ve got a golden touch!” From an early age, he idolized Ivan Lendl, even serving as a ball boy during one of Lendl’s matches in Prague. Defeating his childhood hero, the best Czechoslovak in history (5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in Stockholm ’91) became a career highlight in his early years on the tour. Korda ultimately won four of their five meetings. The summer of ’91 on American hardcourts marked a breakthrough period for Korda, who was representing Czechoslovakia at the time. The lanky Czech reached three ATP finals within a month. After falling short in the finals in Washington and Montreal, he clinched his first trophy in New Haven. During this remarkable run, he surged from No. 69 to No. 15 in the rankings.
As a child & teenager, Korda was exceptionally thin. Over the years, he gained some weight, but even as a professional, he never quite fit the typical athlete’s physique. His career was plagued by unorthodox injuries: groin issues, hernias, para-nasal sinus problems, and other minor ailments. At times, he was devastated, even considering premature retirement. “I was in constant pain, wondering if I’d ever live normally,” he admitted. After a series of operations and as he approached his 30th birthday, Korda finally stabilized his physical condition. Between July ’97 and January ’98, he soared from No. 27 to No. 2 in the world rankings, notching a sensational five-set victory over Pete Sampras at the US Open, and capturing the Stuttgart title above all. For a few weeks in February and March of 1998, he was within striking distance of the top spot, but always fell short by two or three matches.
Korda’s enormous potential is defined by his extraordinary triumph in Germany under challenging circumstances. At the 1993 Compaq Grand Slam in München, he staged a remarkable comeback against the reigning French Open champion Sergi Bruguera in the quarterfinals (4-6, 6-0, 6-4), rallying from 4:2* down in the third set. This was nothing compared to what was to come: in the semifinal, he outlasted world’s best Sampras in a spectacular 4.5-hour battle saving match points in two successive sets… exhausted and barely standing in the fourth and fifth sets, Korda defied expectations by not only reaching the final but also defeating Michael Stich, the second-best player of the season, in another five-set thriller. Astonishingly, Korda survived both matches despite winning fewer points than his opponents (10 fewer against Sampras and 13 fewer against Stich). These victories over Sampras and Stich are unprecedented, no one before or after has won the semi-final and final in so long five-set duels (given the number of games in the deciding sets).  If we add that Korda did it against the two best players in the world, on a surface where they were very efficient, it’s really mind-blowing.
Unfortunately, Korda’s career ended in controversy. At the end of 1998, the ITF announced that he had tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone during Wimbledon ’98. While he was not banned from the sport, Korda was stripped of his ranking points and prize money ($94,500) from Wimbledon. The decision sparked outrage among his peers. Richard Krajicek questioned: “If he used nandrolone, why hasn’t he been disqualified? If he was found not guilty, why did they take away his money?” Jonas Björkman, who lost to Korda the Aussie Open quarterfinal being in the form of his life, added: “Before Wimbledon, he was playing the best tennis of his life. Afterward, he was much worse. If someone takes illegal substances, they should be banned for a few years.”
Shortly after the nandrolone scandal, Korda was banned from competing in his native Czechia for two years. Despite the criticism, Korda returned to the Australian Open ’99 to defend his title but suffered humiliating moments; he defeated Galo Blanco in five sets despite the adversary crowd, and the Spaniard refused to shake his hand. Because of his beautiful, classical ground-strokes and amusing behaviour (a tendency to juggle the ball, celebrating victories with scissor kicks) he was a rather beloved figure all over the world, but in 1999 he became the public enemy wherever he went. His ranking plummeted, and within a year of nearly reaching the pinnacle of tennis, he found himself outside the Top 100. A six-match losing streak, including a defeat to Rodolphe Cadart (who had only three main-level wins), marked the beginning of the end. After losing to Danny Sapsford in the Wimbledon ’99 qualifiers, Korda announced his sudden retirement.
A year and a half later, when the Czech ban expired, Korda made a brief comeback at a Prague Challenger event. He lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 to little-known Martin Hromec of Slovakia, who had never played a main-level match. The almost 33-year-old Korda described the tournament as a gift to his father, who had turned 60 that week.
Korda was primarily an offensive baseliner, characterized by unparalleled ease in spreading the ball to all corners of the court with very low net clearance, but on grass, he adopted the traditional serve-and-volley tactics, which he occasionally used as a surprise element on other surfaces making himself an all-round player.
His son Sebastian Korda (born in 2000) emerged as a promising talent a few years ago. After starting with a 0:3 main-level record and a ranking outside the Top 200, Sebastian reached the fourth round of Roland Garros ’20, where he was outclassed by Rafael Nadal. Standing taller than Petr, being right-hander, and wielding a two-handed backhand, but also prone to play flat, Sebastian represents the next generation of the Korda sport legacy, under the US flag. It’s highly unlikely that he’ll achieve better results than his father, the next few seasons will reveal his true capabilities.

Career record: 410-248 [ 246 events ]
Career titles: 10
Highest ranking: 2
Best GS results:
Australian Open (champion 1998; quarterfinal 1993)
Roland Garros (runner-up 1992)
Wimbledon (quarterfinal 1998)
US Open (quarterfinal 1995 & 97)
Grand Slam Cup champion 1993