Sebastian Korda upsets world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in Miami

"It was a lot of soul searching," Korda said, discussing the mental and physical toll of his injury struggles.

After a slow start to the 2026 season and an early exit at the Australian Open, he played a Challenger in San Diego to get more match play. He reached the final there as the top seed and credited that experience with helping him on his path back to his best tennis: "If I didn't play San Diego, I don't think I'd be sitting here right now," he said.

Korda has found success this year working with new coach Ryan Harrison, a former Top 40 player, and also made the most of a conversation with John McEnroe last month in Dallas.

"He was great, just taking the time out," Korda said of McEnroe. "You just kind of see how he sees my game, what he thinks I can use to try and play better tennis.

"One of the things he said was, 'You've got to go soul searching, you've got to figure out who you are, you've got to figure out why you play tennis, why you love tennis.' Yeah, I think that's been a massive key for me."

Combining that fresh perspective with a clean bill of health has Korda on track to continue his climb up the rankings. With few points to defend this year beyond Miami, a Top 20 return is within reach.

"It's great when you don't have to defend anything. You just play free and any points that you accumulate, it's kind of a bonus," Korda said of his opportunity. "But right now, I'm defending a quarterfinal. That's been my goal this week, is to keep going, keep pushing myself, and whatever happens happens."