Vladimir Korotkov started playing tennis at the age of five. His first coach was Tamara Dubrovina at the sports club
CSKA Moscow. Later Korotkov graduated from the Central State Institute for Physical Culture. In 1963, Korotkov won the Soviet youth championships in mixed doubles with
Marina Chuvyrina, and the next year he won the senior Soviet championships in men's doubles with Vyacheslav Egorov. The same year, he reached the finals of the juniors of
Wimbledon Championships, losing to
Ismail El Shafei. In 1965, though, he returned to the finals of the Wimbledon juniors, and this time won. In 1966, he became a two-time Wimbledon juniors champion and added to it the title of
French juniors champion. In 1966 he also won his second Soviet championships in men's doubles (once again with Egorov). In 1968, Korotkov was included in the Soviet team at the
1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico. There were only demonstration and exhibition tennis events played at the Olympics, and Korotkov who won a gold at the mixed doubles exhibition event and two bronze medals at men's singles and doubles is not considered an Olympic champion. During the rest of his playing career, Korotkov repeatedly reached the finals of the Soviet championships in men's doubles (last time in 1979) and in mixed doubles (1970). His highest achievement at this level was winning the 1977 Soviet championships in singles where he defeated
Vadim Borisov in the final. He also won several All-Union tennis tournaments of lesser rank. From 1966 to 1977, he was a part of the Soviet Top 10 list of players, reaching no. 3 in 1973. Korotkov successfully played in international amateur tournaments, winning a number of international tournaments played in the Soviet Union, including doubles event at the
1973 Summer Universiade. He was a part of the
Soviet Union Davis Cup team between 1969 and 1974, winning 10 out of 21 rubbers. In 1974, he won the European Zone with the Soviet team but lost to the
India Davis Cup team in the inter-zonal semifinals. After the start of the
Open Era, Korotkov played in some open tournaments with limited success; his best results were the fourth round of the
Italian Open in 1969 (defeating
Charlie Pasarell and
Owen Davidson on his way) and in 1973 (defeating
Cliff Richey). He also reached the third round at the first Open Wimbledon Championships in 1968. == Coaching career ==