The Kordas are establishing a multi-sport family empire like no other. Lola Katz Roberts looks at how a dynasty is developed.
$35,498,329 million in prize money, two Grand Slams, two Major Championships, an Olympic gold, and five elite athletes. That’s the Korda family in a statistical nutshell, but the real story of Petr, Regina, Jessica, Nelly and Seb is one of genetics, planning, hard work and a relentless pursuit of sporting excellence.
Keeping up with the Kordas would be an impossible task for us mere mortals because they belong to the nonpareil – a class of otherworldly beings with supernatural sporting gifts bestowed upon them.
Is that an exaggeration? In short, no. To produce not one, not two, but three children all rubbing shoulders at the top table of their respective sports is truly remarkable. While athletes do have a propensity to ‘keep it in the family’, it’s worth remembering for every Frankel there’s a Proconsul; for every Kaka there’s a Digao; and for every MJ there’s a Larry Jordan.
The point being, genes obviously count for something, but there’s a lot of work still to be done to convert all that genetic potential into success in the sporting arena. That’s where Petr and Regina have really earned their stripes.
GRAFT
“Once a child starts to excel at something – whether it’s math, piano, pitching or ballet – he or she gets praise, admiration, and satisfaction. This builds confidence and makes the once not-fun activity fun.” So says Amy Chua in her seminal publication about parenting, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.
But imagine if the practice was fun? If cute kids donning pristine tennis whites enthusiastically took to the court to blast the ball with a cheerful thwack at the opposing baseline. Then imagine there are three of them.
Basically, being good at things is fun. We all know that. But even with prodigious natural gifts there are still 148 million people who play tennis or golf, so I’m sure each Korda child more than fulfilled their quota of Gladwellian 10,000 hours to push to the very front of that queue.
As a side note, it’s somewhat maddening when people argue players like Mario Balotelli or Ravel Morrison “never fulfilled their potential”. Just reaching the professional game, being remunerated to play sport – that is achieving potential. To go beyond that – to plunder the heights of global top 100s – is something else altogether and achieving it with one child is remarkable, but to do it with three? That is scarcely believable.
‘Petr and Regina didn’t leave the genes to their own devices; they fabricated, stitched, tailored them’.
PLATONIC IDEALS
As one football coach pointed out to me as I struggled to reach five consecutive kick-ups, practice does not make perfect, oh no no, practice makes competent. So, what did the Kordas have that I didn’t (apart from perfect genes, a smidge more talent and beautiful long, wavy locks of blonde hair)?
They had metaphysical idealism. Bear with me. The Platonic ideal of a forehand or golf swing was right there in front of them. Most of us attempted to recreate what we saw on the telly, but for Seb, he could just ask his father: “Show me again.” And repeat until he was able to render his own forehand worthy of Plato’s approval.
I hear you say: “What if his father wasn’t there?” It’s true, most nascent tennis careers would wilt if the attentions of a Grand Slam-winning parent were diverted elsewhere. But the unique athletic gifts bequeathed upon the family gene pool ensured that father Petr being called away to caddy for elder daughter Jess as she made her first steps on the LPGA tour was no obstacle to Seb’s development into a potential Grand Slam champion.
Handily for young Seb, mother Regina, a top-30-ranked tennis player in her own right, was able to step in and mould his game, spending hours with him on court to nurture his natural talent and shape it into one of the 30 best on the planet.
TIMING
Another unique footnote to the Korda story is the astonishing synchronicity of the siblings’ success – almost like it’s all been koordinated (sorry, couldn’t resist).
While genetics may have pre-ordained their pathway to greatness, devising three sporting careers to peak simultaneously doesn’t happen overnight. Petr’s former manager Patricio Apey told the New York Times: “As crazy as it sounds, Petr and I have been talking about this for like 12 years, to do these things together with the three kids. I always say he’s half-genius and half-crazy…”
Seb Korda reached a career-high 23 in the world rankings last year
Plenty of parents harbour resentment about the many hours of their weekends they donated to supporting their children’s athletic endeavours. To think the Kordas managed to navigate the exploits of three sports-playing children without a full-time secretary and driver is staggering. Florida is a very big state, for starters. You’ve got to hand it to them. They must have been very organised. All of that speaks to the concept of elite mentality. Petr and Regina didn’t leave the genes to their own devices; they fabricated them, stitched them, tailored them.
COMPETITION
I bet those games of Monopoly at Christmas were tense tactical affairs. I still get a shiver down my spine thinking about the humiliation of my little brother charging me exorbitant rent when I had the misfortune to land on his Park Lane hotel…
Competition drives innovation, but sibling rivalry drives success. While the Korda sisters are able to put rivalries aside out on the golf course (where Nelly is a clear world No. 1 at the moment), there is no doubt that being side-by-side with your sister while competing in major global tournaments helps to make it just another day. It’s Christmas Monopoly, the race to the Xbox, the fight for the best snacks in the shop. In other words, survival of the fittest, every day.
As for Seb, who calls himself “the worst athlete in the family”, he may not have a sibling competition on the tennis circuit, but he does have his dad’s shoes to fill. It’s easy to imagine those father-son backyard matches meant that little bit more.
So that’s how an athlete is made. The word ‘dynasty’ is overused in sport, but the Kordas are well on their way. And Seb has clearly inherited his father’s eye for a mate with sporting gifts: his long-time girlfriend is Ivana Nedved, daughter of Pavel, and he wasn’t half bad, was he?
Lola Katz Roberts is Assistant Editor of the Fitzdares Times
