Sister Nelly's LPGA winning streak was 'inspiring,' says Sebastian Korda

On the heels of his sister Nelly Korda's generational winning streak, on the LPGA Tour Sebastian Korda is hoping a little of that magic rubs off on him at Roland Garros.

This spring, the younger of his two sisters has been one of the stories of the sporting world at large: The world No. 1 on the LPGA tour, Nelly Korda won five straight tournaments across March and April, becoming just the third woman to ever have a winning streak that long. Her streak was snapped in the first event she played in May, but she was back in the winner's circle the next week.

Nelly Korda's run captured attention both inside and outside the world of sports, and on the tennis tour, too. Jessica Pegula praised her run, and after his second-round win over Kwon Soonwoo, Sebastian Korda said he loved to watch her dominate (even if it made him nervous).

"She's such an unbelievable competitor," he said of 25-year-old Nelly. "She'll do anything to win out there. She'll put her teeth into everything. She's a true warrior.

"Just watching her play right now, it's really inspiring to watch ... It's a lot of fun.

“Luckily and unluckily, I was out of the tournament every time she was doing well, so I always had the opportunity to watch her. I would always watch the last couple of holes because I can't take watching it. It's just too nerve-wracking for me."

Both siblings, in fact, are competing at major tournaments this week. While Nelly Korda will be on the course at the U.S. Women's Open on Friday, the rest of the family will no doubt be tuned in as Sebastian Korda faces No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Though he's lost to the Spaniard three times in four attempts, including at Roland Garros two years ago, Korda has reson to be optimistic. Alcaraz looked vulnerable in a four-set win over Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong in the second round, and Korda's only prior win against him came on clay—in Monte Carlo in 2022.

“He's been one of the best clay-courters in the last couple of years, so it's obviously going to be very difficult,” Korda said. “We've played probably two years ago to the day, a third round, exactly. A night match as well.

“It’s going to be a fun experience, and hopefully I can play some good tennis. We'll see what happens.”