Sebastian Korda chasing match-day butterflies in 2026 after pair of stop-and-go seasons

Chances are, Sebastian Korda can tell you about any of the matches he’s played throughout his career, one that saw him turn professional in 2018.

As the Australian Open gets set to crown a champion, the former world No. 15 is currently headlining the 2026 Better Buzz Coffee San Diego Open. It’s been some time since Korda has competed on the ATP Challenger Tour, a fact that seemed only fitting to quiz him on.

“Do you recall the last time you contested a Challenger,” I asked during a phone interview Wednesday.

“I lost in Biella to Dmitry Popko in two sets, I think. It was in 2021.”

A return winner.

In fact, this tournament week on the tennis calendar is a special one in Korda’s journey. For it marks five years since his triumph at the Quimper Challenger cemented a Top 100 debut.

“I didn’t know this week was five years ago on the dot. That’s pretty cool,” he reflects.

“In a way, tennis is just so fast that you don't really stop and kind of just look around and see where you are. A really good thing, I think for me, is to take a step back and just appreciate where I am. And then try to get back there again.”

Korda is coming off a less-than-ideal ending to his proverbial summer Down Under. After beginning 2026 by reaching the Brisbane International quarterfinals, the Bradenton, Fla. native was on the receiving end of two tough pills to swallow. He lost 7-6 in the third to Thanasi Kokkinakis in Adelaide, then fell in a fifth set to two-time NCAA champion Michael Zheng after rallying from two sets down at the Australian Open.

“Extremely disappointed with the whole Australian tour really,” he admits. “I thought it would be best to just stay in the competitive mindset. Luckily I got a wild card here in San Diego and I'm able to keep playing.”

Korda opened his campaign Wednesday afternoon with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Daniel Milavsky, a former team captain at Harvard, at the Barnes Tennis Center (also hosting an ITF W100 event this week). Before jumping on the phone, the top seed returned to the court to hit for 10 or so minutes, not common practice for Korda, but something he felt necessary on the day.

The American’s appetite for matches goes far beyond putting Australia behind him. In 2025, he missed nearly three months of action with a stress fracture in his right shin following Roland Garros. In his second event back at the US Open, a lower back problem flared up during an opening-round clash with Cameron Norrie that he was unable to complete. The year prior, Korda’s season ended after a second-round loss in New York once it was determined his right elbow required surgery.

I just didn't really want to go home and get back to practicing for two or three weeks. I think especially with how many times I've been injured, you kind of lose that competitiveness when you're not really inside of a tournament. I think that's something that I'm lacking sometimes. Sebastian Korda

For the guy with an undeniable tennis memory, it’s the questions only a match day can ask where the 25-year-old wants to study up on as he settles into a fresh season of opportunities and a clean bill of health.

“It's extremely difficult to kind of just stop and go, stop and go all the time. I think it definitely hurts you mentally. You just get in a really bad place when you're injured and then you don't really do too well when you're coming back,” he shares.

“You kind of lose that stressful feeling when you're playing a tournament and that's one of the things that I think I just need right now, especially with the amount of time that I missed. Just to keep playing the competitive environment and have those morning butterflies before a match.”

As our chat winds down, one change of pace was thrown Korda’s way. With no horse in the race, who does the big sports fan have winning the upcoming Super Bowl?

“I think the Patriots are gonna win. Only because my best friend's a Seahawks fan, so I gotta go against them.”

Spoken like a true competitor.