Kim and Seo Backhand Serve effectiveness

Hi Alois,

  I have been watching the play of two players recently: Kim Song i, who I've previously asked about, and Seo Hyowon, another modern defender. They both use a high-toss backhand serve as their main weapon, but the two look very different. Kim positions her arm above and around her shoulder during the toss, while Seo goes under her shoulder. Does this make a difference at all? Or is it just personal preference?

  I ask about this serve for two reasons.

1: Is this serve hard to practice? They both do this serve, and control it extremely well. How does it work?

2: What makes it so good? I mainly hear that backhand serves are used to contain the opponent. But I have seen this serve set up vicious 3rd ball attacks that come out of no where. It seems so hard to read, and they both get a lot of spin on it without using a ton of wrist. I've never seen one serve that can control a rally so much.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Devin

Hi Devin,

Their serves are very similar.

Kim Song I holds her left arm out of the way.  See Hyowon keep the left arm up and swings her bat under it.

The essence of the swing for both is very similar.

See what feels better for you, keeping the left arm up or getting it out of the way.  They are both effective as you can see.

They both use the serve aggressively.  You don't have to have a passive backhand serve.  They both swing through fast and with a big swing to generate good spin.