Rising American tennis star Sebastian Korda spent the weekend at a golf event with his family, and was fortunate enough to meet golf legend Tiger Woods.
Sebastian's sister, Nelly, is currently ranked No.1 on the LPGA Tour and was invited to compete at the PNC Championship alongside her father, 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda. According to reports, Nelly walked up to Woods and asked to take a picture with him, along with her father and brother.
When Nelly introduced Tiger to “Sebi”, Woods quickly produced a friendly quip: “What’s up big guy? Aren’t you supposed to be practicing?”
“Meeting Tiger was unbelievable. He was so nice,” said Sebastian. “He's probably our family’s favorite athlete. Any time he would play a tournament, we were all glued to the TV.”
The Korda Family finished 12th (-17) at the event, during which Sebastian caddied six holes for his father during the first round.
“I had the easy job. I only caddied six holes on the back nine and Nelly's caddy Jason [McDede] was helping me out,” Sebastian said. “I’ve never been inside the ropes during the tournament and was really cool to hear what they talk about before each and every shot.“
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.