Player Spotlight: Sebastian Korda
Simple technique
Although most young players today have moved away from the modern forehand technique, Sebastian Korda is one of the exceptions who is quietly rising up the rankings. Currently sitting at a career-high 38, the American and son of Czech former grand slam winner, Petr Korda, comes from a rich sporting pedigree.1
Korda has already won an ATP title, on the outdoor clay of Parma last year prior to the French Open, and made a final of the ATP 250 in Delray Beach. He was perhaps unlucky not to be in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year as well, losing a five-set thriller against Karen Khachanov in the fourth round. The fifth set alone featured thirteen (13! on grass…) breaks of serve. This versatility across all three surfaces is rare in such a young player.
What I love about his game is the simplicity in all his strokes. At 6’5’’ there is an easy tap of power that is reminiscent of another Czech, Tomas Berdych. His 52-week serve statistics are promising, although not crazy considering his height. What makes me bullish on Korda overall is his return-of-serve ability; he currently sits at 28 in the 52-week ATP return rating, and if we look at hard court matches only against top-10 players, he rises to 17th, just behind Daniil Medvedev and Emil Ruusuvori. Such a well-balanced game lends itself to really reap the rewards if Korda can take his fitness and athleticism to another level in a similar fashion to what Medvedev did in 2019. It should be expected that his serve improves into his twenties as he builds up more strength as well.
Korda takes on the unbeaten Rafael Nadal in the second round of Indian Wells today. The last time they met, a 19-year-old Korda only managed 4 games in three sets at the French Open. At home on the North-American hardcourts, it will be interesting to see how his game stacks up against the very best.
Sebastian’s mother, Regina Rajchrtová, was also a top 30 WTA player. Sebastian’s two sisters, Nelly and Jessica Korda, are both professional golfers currently ranked world number 1 and 6, respectively.