"You Can Only Do Your Best": Meet Alex Kor

Alex Kor has always been a survivor. You could say it runs in his family. Both parents were survivors of the Holocaust and met almost by fate on a blind date years later in Israel. When they had Kor and his sister, the lesson naturally became stand tall, and you will survive.

Kor needed this sentiment more than ever when, at age 26, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, nine years before Lance Armstrong would receive the same diagnosis. As a scared podiatry student at the time, Kor turned back to his mother, who had been his rock through thick and thin. Again, she reminded him of his family’s will to persist.

“I was 26 years old and scared, and my mom said your father is a survivor, I’m a survivor, and you’ll be a survivor,” said Kor. “Those words, for whatever reason, gave me a lot of teeth.”

Kor beat the cancer with the support of his family and doctors, and he was finally able to get back to his studies. The Terre Haute native became a practicing podiatrist by the age of 30, but something was still missing. A collegiate tennis player at Butler University, Kor had put down his racquet while in podiatry school but realized that he was missing the competition in his life.

At the age of 35, Kor became reacquainted with the game that meant so much to him. After his father was rescued from Buchenwald (a Nazi concentration camp in Germany) and brought to Terre Haute, and his mother eventually joined, tennis became the family’s official sport. Kor recalls his father encouraging him to play. Kor fell in love with the sport and was soon ranked as a junior player.

It was that sense of competition from his youth and college days that Kor needed back in his life. So, he started to play again and kept playing.

“Tennis has played a major role in my life, not only socially but competitively,” said Kor. “I’ve also met many interesting people playing tennis.”

From playing against the No. 22 player in the world unknowingly in Israel (at the age of 19)  to facing off against former American professional Dennis Ralston in the back draw of a tournament in Austin, Texas,  Kor has definitely met his fair share of extraordinary people through the sport. For Kor, this is what keeps drawing him back. No matter where you go, Kor says, there is always a tennis connection.

“Those are two of the unique experiences and to me, that’s why I really enjoy playing, and I think I will play forever,” said Kor.

Kor holds a national ranking currently in singles and doubles and plays anywhere from 10 to 14 tournaments a year. Through his tennis career and professional career, Kor has kept the lessons his parents taught him near to his heart.

“My mom would always tell me, ‘You can only do your best’,” said Kor. “It’s a really simple statement, but, really all you can do is your best.

“I think so many kids, whether they are a high school tennis player or college tennis player, or they are starting to learn how to play tennis, really what is comes down to is do your best and have a good time.”

Kor lost his mother on the Fourth of July of last year in Poland, and the world mourned an icon of strength and forgiveness. Through his parents’ example, Kor has fully embodied what it means to be a survivor and continues to do everything he can to honor his mother’s legacy.

Recently, Indiana governor Eric Holcomb declared January 27, 2020 Eva Education Day, where every middle school and high school student in the state will learn, just as Kor did, about the impact his mother had on the world.

Until then and far after, Kor will continue to do his best and share his parents’ story of love and hope for years to come.

Learn more about Eva Kor and her legacy here. Click here to learn more about Eva's documentary film.