Background and Age

Jessica Korda was born on February 27, 1993, in the state of Florida. She comes from a family where sports were a big part of her upbringing. Her parents, Pert Korda and Regina Raichrtova, were professional athletes that dominated the sport of tennis. As retired athletes, they do all they can to support their daughter's rising career.

Her father was a grand slam champion and is notable for winning the Australian Open in 1998. In addition, Jessica's younger brother, Sebastian, won the 2018 Australian Open title in the boys' division. Jessica also has a sister, Nelly, who plays golf, joined her in the 2017 LPGA Tour.

Since Jessica's parents were stars in the tennis world, Jessica's decision to play golf was surprising to her fans. She explained why she wanted to go on a different path from her parents, "The rumor is that when I was younger, I didn't like to sweat and I didn't like to run, and both of those things are kind of important in tennis. I was introduced to many sports as a child: I did gymnastics, figure skating, tennis, and golf, and I dabbled a little bit in ballet. I just never fell in love with tennis the way I did with golf."

Career and Net Worth

Jessica Korda represented the Czech Republic in the World Amateur Team Championship "Espirito Santo Trophy" in 2006. She was then part of the "Junior Solheim Cup" in 2009 and a member of the "U.S. Curtis Cup" 2010 teams. As an amateur, she won the 2010 "South Atlantic Amateur Championship," and she passed the cut for the 2008 and 2009 "U.S. Women's Opens." She's been a runner-up at the 2010 "U.S. Women's Amateur" event. She represented the U.S. in the World Amateur Team Championship "Espirito Santo Trophy" in 2010, where she finished tied for fourth place.

Jessica entered the LPGA Tour "Qualifying School" in 2010 when she was 17, and she finished as the runner-up in the final. This achievement qualified her for full membership on tour in 2011.

In an interview with Golf Digest, Jessica explained how she started to gain recognition in the sport of professional golf. She had a mediocre freshman year on the LPGA Tour, but she shocked the world to win the first event in 2012, the Women's Australian Open. When asked what led to the sudden shift in success, Jessica said, "I did a lot of growing up in 2011. Going out on tour was like being thrown into the deep end of the pool, and I was not prepared for what pro-life is like. I was still in high school and had a hard time finding balance. But I got some advice from Jack Nicklaus (we have a mutual friend) at the end of the year, and he put a lot of things in perspective. He told me that balance is the most important thing in life--and when I start mastering that is when I'm going to be the happiest."

It took a while for American sports fans to notice Jessica, "I grew up in Florida but spent summers in the Czech Republic and played for the Czech Republic national team until I was 15--I had dual citizenship. When I finished 19th in the U.S. Women's Open at age 15, I played under the Czech Republic flag. My dad wanted me to fly under the radar. He wanted me to be able to enjoy my childhood and my freedom.