Inside the Korda Dynasty: The Remarkable Sporting Family Behind Nelly Korda

When the name Nelly Korda is spoken in golf, it carries the weight of excellence—poise under pressure, technical brilliance, and a calm authority that seems almost effortless. But her greatness did not emerge in isolation. It was shaped by a family where discipline, competition, and resilience were not aspirations, but daily realities.

When all 5 members of a single family turn out to be globally ranked sportspeople, you know they’ve got great genes – and, like the Bryants and the Williams sisters, the Kordas are something special
Born to tennis stars Petr and Regina Korda, Nelly, Jessica and Sebastian are renowned athletes in their own right, from Olympic medallist Nelly and pro golfer Jessica to rising tennis scion Sebastian
Just like the Bryants and the Williams sisters, this Czech-American family are all professional athletes.
Petr Korda was a top tennis professional back in the 1980s and 1990s. He married another tennis pro, Regina Rajchrtová, and they have three children. The couple repped their native country Czechoslovakia before the Eastern Bloc dissolved and played at top-level tournaments around the world, including Grand Slams and Olympics. After the couple retired from tennis, they became US citizens and settled in Bradenton, Florida, according to their profile on the LPGA website.

Petr took up golf upon his retirement – a sport that his daughters took a shine to – and now their younger daughter Nelly is a top-ranked women’s professional golfer globally and their older daughter Jessica ranked No. 18 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf in 2023. Their son, Sebastian, is ranked 21st in tennis’ ATP at the time of writing. Talk about an athletic family!

So let’s find out more about each of them and the relationship they have with each other:

1. Jessica Korda, 31

Jessica is an LPGA golfer. After welcoming her son in early 2024, and with a wrist injury, the 31-year-old hasn’t competed this season, but according to the LPGA, she’s won six titles and 44 other top-10 results over her 13-year professional career.

Despite having to compete against her sister Nelly (more on her in a moment), Jessica told People magazine that she and Nelly have each other’s backs: “Everyone always tries to pit us against each other and we always disappoint everyone when we say that we are each other’s biggest supporters.”

2. Nelly Korda, 25

Meet Paul W. Downs, who cosplayed Timothée Chalamet while matching with his Hacks co-star

At the Critics’ Choice Awards, Downs and co-star Megan Stalter walked the red carpet in orange outfits inspired by Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner

Hacks stars Megan Statler and Paul W. Downs stole the show at the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards when they arrived on the red carpet in bright orange ensembles that looked strikingly familiar.

The co-stars stepped out in a perfect cosplay of Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner’s viral orange Chrome Hearts looks that they wore to the Marty Supreme premiere in New York last month.
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The pair worked with stylist Kat Typaldos to recreate the look, and unlike Timmy and Kylie, Statler and Downs were not wearing actual Chrome Hearts pieces, but worked with a team of costume designers to replicate the memorable look – right down to the black ping pong paddle case.

The Hacks duo even made sure to copy Timmy and Kylie’s red carpet pose, with Downs’ hand wrapped around Stalter’s waist.

Several fans took to the comments section beneath Downs’ Instagram post of their red carpet appearance, humorously writing, “Timothée and Kylie want what you have” and “Iconic. Brave. Never been done before,” with some even jokingly labelling Downs and Stalter’s cosplay as the “Temu” or “Amazon” versions of Chalamet and Jenner.

Here’s everything to know about Paul W. Downs.

He did improv at university

Downs was raised in Sussex, New Jersey, where he attended The Pingry School, a private school where he picked up swimming and acting. Downs went on to attend Duke University, where he studied theatre and participated in the institution’s improv group.