Nelly Korda didn't hold back when talking about her childhood relationship with her older sister Jessica.

Nelly was the annoying little sister who followed Jessica everywhere and Jessica absolutely hated that. At least, that's how Nelly remembers it.

During an interview before the HSBC Women's Championship in Singapore, she jokingly shared her side of the story. "I was that little annoying sister.

She had to take me everywhere. She hated me for it, but now she loves it," Nelly said. That honesty really captures their relationship.

Nelly thinks Jessica sometimes despises her for being so persistent. When Jessica picked up a golf club, six-year-old Nelly wanted lessons.

When Jessica practiced for hours, Nelly was right there with her. When Jessica turned pro, Nelly followed along. Jessica's love for golf gave her younger sister no choice, as the older Korda joked. But Nelly disagreed. She had a choice.

"I wanted to do anything she was doing," Nelly said, referring to herself as the "annoying little sister." Most older siblings can relate to that feeling. The little one who copies every move and invades every space.

Their path from tennis royalty to golf stardom was not set in stone. Parents Petr and Regina Korda excelled in professional tennis, with Petr winning the 1998 Australian Open.

But Jessica chose golf. Once she committed, their parents needed a way to keep young Nelly occupied during practice. By age six, Nelly was training three to four times a week.

Jessica Korda, Nelly's biggest supporter

The sister who once hated being followed everywhere became Nelly's fiercest champion. Jessica stayed awake through the night in Florida, fighting a 12-hour time difference, to watch Nelly compete in her first LPGA tournament in Taiwan.

When Nelly walked off victorious, she FaceTimed Jessica and broke down. "She's definitely my best friend," Nelly said. "She's been there every step of the way."

That bond translated to their time competing together. They played foursomes at the 2019 Solheim Cup, where their matches never went beyond the 14th hole.

Then Jessica's back injury in May 2023 changed everything.

"It was a huge adjustment for me in 2023," Nelly revealed on the 5 Clubs podcast. "I am a little bit of a shy person, so I don't necessarily make the easiest of friends. Having Jess out there was always such a safe buffer for me, to have someone with me and not feel lonely."

The world's top-ranked golfer admitting she struggles socially shows how much Jessica meant beyond golf advice.

Every champion has a constant. For Nelly Korda, it was always her sister.

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu