Nelly Korda Says She Stepped ‘Outside Comfort Zone’ for Jaw-Dropping SI Swimsuit Debut

Nelly Korda is having an incredible month, from breaking records on the green to posing for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit.

Nelly Korda photographed by Ben Horton at the Boca Raton Resort in Boca Raton, Fla. in a behind the scenes photo / SI Staff

It’s a great time to be Nelly Korda. The 26-year-old professional golfer, who is the daughter of retired professional tennis players Petr Korda and Regina Rajchrtová, just won her seventh LPGA Tour of the year, bringing her total to 15th wins. If that wasn’t impressive enough, the Florida native was also named the LPGA Tour Player of the Year and won the Rolex Annika Major Award—all this month. To say it’s been a jam-packed November for the 2024 Solheim Cup winner would be an understatement, especially when you also factor in that Korda officially joined the SI Swimsuit brand at the start of the month.

In early November, Korda traveled to Boca Raton, Fla. to be photographed for Ben Horton’s lens at The Boca Raton resort. If you’ve been following along with the golfer, you’ll know the results turned out absolutely flawless. While her full spread won’t be released until May when our 2025 issue is released, the brand has been very generous in sharing teases from the photo shoots. Korda was a vision on the beach while posing for the magazine, so much so that it’d be easy to assume she’s had extensive modeling experience.

Well, that’s actually not the case, and while speaking with NBC Sports, Korda gushed over the experience, which she described as “so outside [her] comfort zone.”

“I’m not used to doing anything like that,” Korda admitted, adding, “I think that’s what’s great about these opportunities, is that you do get to step outside your comfort zone and do something different. I was just really excited for the opportunity to do this. I mean, it was so cool. The whole crew was amazing. By the end of the day, I was having so much fun with them.”

“It was so cool,” Korda recalled. ”About probably two months ago we got the call to do it. I knew that I was just going to be coming back from Asia. That was the original plan. And MJ Day, the [editor in chief], she was so amazing. The whole crew was so amazing.” The feeling is definitely mutual!

We’re completely in awe of Korda, both in her work in front of the camera and on the green. With her latest LPGA Tour win, she’s now the first player to have won seven times in a season since Yani Tseng in 2011. “It's been crazy, it's been such a fun year, full of ups and downs, but I am so, so grateful for my team sitting right here,” she told ESPN. “It's been an amazing year and I'm so grateful to be doing what I love.”

See just a few of our favorite snaps from Korda’s SI Swimsuit photo shoot below, including an official image and some behind the scenes shots.

Nelly Korda was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Vitamin A. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

Nelly Korda photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton in a behind the scenes photo / SI Staff

Nelly Korda poses at The Boca Raton for photographer Ben Horton in behind the scenes photo / SI Staff