Corkscrew Serve
Ji-Soo Woo
Submitted on 29-Jul-2008 01:23:52 PM
Last updated on 29-Sep-2008 04:59:16 PM
You Asked
Hi
What exactly is a corkscrew serve and how do you serve it?
Thanks
Ji-Soo
and Alois Rosario said...
Good question. It is not a term I use. After extensive research (On YouTube) I think all it is is a sidespin serve which makes the ball move around like a corkscrew. The idea then is to get lots of sidespin on the serve.
Maybe someone that uses the term can set me straight.
Comments on this question
Ji-Soo Woo commented...
on the 08-Aug-2008 09:39:32 AM
Back when I used to be a decent player in the mid 80s I played in a tournament against this guy who had the most impressive serve I have ever seen. Interestingly he only seemed to serve this serve exactly ONCE a match (not even once a set). I can't remember what his service motion looked like but it started off like a very spinny and slow backspun ball. Then, as it crossed the net, it mysteriously became a fast topspin. It completely aced me. I didn't even get a racquet on it. He won our match and I watched him play the next round, and he repeated the same serve and aced his next opponent as well! When I described this serve on oneofakindtrading.com forum people were saying this was a 'corkscrew serve' - hence my question.
Gerard McCarthy Unknown commented...
on the 29-Sep-2008 03:24:58 PM
For the distinction between corkscrew and sidespin see USATT Certified National Coach Larry Hodges article "EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SPIN" which is reproduced at http://masatenisi.org/english/spin.htm To get a better idea about generating spins on serves, hold a globe in front of you with Africa facing towards you. To get pure top spin the bat should brush from Zambia to Sudan or from South Africa to Zambia or from Chad to Libya or from Greece to Finland. To get pure backspin spin the bat should brush from Zambia to South Africa or from Queen Maud Land on the edge of Antartica nearest Africa towards the Ross Sea or from the Ross Sea up towards Cook Island (with the forwards movement of the bat dragging the ball forwards at the same time). To get pure side spin brush along the equator from Ascension Islands to Peru or from Gabon to Brazil; or in the reverse direction from Tanzania to the SeyChelles or Kenya to Indonesia. To get pure corkscrew spin brush from Argentinia to Bolivia or from Western Australia to Indonesia. However this does rely on the forwards movement of the bat dragging the ball forwards at the same time. In practice corkscrew is produced with diagonal brushing in combination with sidespin and either top spin or backspin. To get sidespin corkscrew and top spin together brush from Madagascar towards Algeria or from Namibia towards India. To get sidespin corkscrew and back spin together brush from South Sandwich Island towards the South Pole or Amsterdam Island to the South Pole or from the South Pole towards Easter Island or from the South Pole towards New Zealand.
