Last summer a study by Anglia Ruskin University found that some people have a natural advantage when it comes to endurance training based on their genetics.
In an eight-week study on 45 participants in the UK aged between 20 and 40, they found 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms which were directly associated with endurance improvements. SNPs explain how a genetic sequence or a single gene can vary from person to person or population to population. Their findings follow up on a separate study which claims up to 44% of a person’s endurance response is down to genetics.
Given these findings, Ubitennis was keen to know what one of the world’s best tennis players who has a sporting family think about this topic. Sebastian Korda is currently ranked 21st in the world and has one ATP title to his name. He is the son of former Australian Open champion Petr Korda and former WTA top 30 player Regina Rajchrtova. Meanwhile, his sisters, Jessica and Nelly, are pro golfers on LPGA Tour.
“I don’t think it really has anything to do with it,” Korda said at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
“My parents did all they could do to allow us to have the opportunity to play professional sports and we’re all very grateful for that.
“It definitely helps when you have athletes in your family, they can help you in certain situations.
“But at the end of the day, you gotta work hard and you gotta wank to improve every day. Those are the keys for any athlete in the world.”
Korda’s Wimbledon journey came to an abrupt end in the first round where he suffered a shock 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-3, loss to big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard who hit an incredible 51 aces during the five-set thriller. It is a bitter pill for the American to swallow after he impressed on the grass in the warm-up events. Reaching the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and then the semi-finals in Queen’s.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Korda replied when asked about his opponent’s high level of tennis.
“I thought it wasn’t going to be as good as that, but I knew he was an unbelievable server. I’ve watched some videos of him. I watched him when he won his title in Lyon at the French a little bit.
“I’m sure he’s only going to get better for the years to come and I wish him all the best.”
As for the near future, a disappointed Korda was unsure when asked if he might now take a brief break from the sport.
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do right now. It’s too, too soon to know what’s going on.” He concluded.
It is the first time the 23-year-old has lost in the first round at Wimbledon since 2019.