Head Graphene XT Prestige S Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 80

As the lightest of the midplus Prestige racquets, the Graphene XT Prestige S felt quick and control-oriented from the baseline. Jason has had some experience with previous versions of the Prestige S. He commented, "It's a very easy racquet to swing, but it was hit or miss for me, no pun intended. The Graphene XT Prestige S is a pretty low powered racquet, and when I didn't hit the ball in the small sweetspot the drop in power was noticeable. I was having trouble hitting the ball with depth, and I started to overhit by picking targets that were beyond the baseline. However, I was finding success with my backhand slice because I could knife it and keep it low to the ground."

Brittany, who playtested the IG Prestige S several years ago, said, "I mostly remember the IG Prestige S being heavier than I what I was used to and low powered. However, my tastes have slightly changed since then (I have gone from a Babolat Pure Drive to the Yonex EZONE Ai 100), and I like more control in my racquets. When I picked the Graphene XT Prestige S up and swung it a few times I was instantly flooded with memories. This update is still low powered and definitely more control-oriented. It took me some time to get used to it, and for the first 30 minutes of hitting my balls were landing around the service line. I had to put a lot of effort into generating racquet head speed to get the ball to land closer to the baseline, and I was missing the easy put-away power on short balls. However, I enjoyed the plow through on my slice backhands, which stayed low and skidded through the court, something that doesn't always happen for me."

"Typically I prefer racquets that offer a bit more power than the Graphene XT Prestige S, but I did play some nice points with this racquet," said Tiffani. "My issue was playing well with it consistently. Because I found this racquet to be low powered and control oriented I needed to make sure I kept my foot on the gas during points. This meant taking balls early, stepping into the ball every time and not letting myself slip back behind the baseline. When I did this I could drive balls and move my opponents around. However, it was difficult to do it on every point, and when I got pushed back or had to hit too many quick pick-up balls near my feet I dropped the ball short or into the net. I did enjoy the feel of the Graphene XT Prestige S on my backhand slices, and I often went to that shot to mix up the speed of a game."

Mark is a fan of the Prestige line of racquets, and he offered, "Like many players, the first thing I do with a new racquet is test it out from the baseline hitting groundstrokes. I have not swung a Head Prestige frame that I did not absolutely like, so I did have some high expectations for the Graphene XT Prestige S. From the first swing off my forehand wing I could detect that this newer Prestige S offers a very solid, precise feel through contact of the ball and a somewhat low powered response. It was not long before I discovered that the Graphene XT Prestige S suits me from the backcourt almost perfectly. Its 16x19 string pattern was tight enough for me to rely on my slice backhand, but open enough to easily hit topspin off either wing. Overall, I loved the new Prestige S from the baseline because switching from defense to offense with it was a breeze."

Volleys - Score: 82

When our playtesters advanced to the net they enjoyed the feel and maneuverability of the Graphene XT Prestige S. Finding success at net was Brittany. She explained, "When I moved up to the net I had to hit a couple more volleys to end points since I was struggling with power on the approach. However, the racquet performed well at net. It was stable and it didn't feel like it was twisting in my hands. The Graphene XT Prestige S was more maneuverable than I expected, and I never felt out of position hitting a volley. There was enough feel that I could place shorter volleys where I wanted and pick up some good half volleys to points."

Tiffani found herself moving up to the net more often than usual. She said, "An upside of having to play more offensively from the baseline is it pulled me forward to the net. I was more consistent volleying than I was from the baseline, and I preferred using my net game to win points, which is far from the norm for me. I enjoyed the feel and felt good going for touch shots, and this racquet moved well for me at net."

Jason added, "What I liked about this racquet up at net was the maneuverability and touch. The maneuverability was good for hitting overheads, and I felt like I had a good feel when hitting drop volleys. Unfortunately, I don't always hit a clean volley, and in those instances the torsional stability became an issue."

"As from the baseline, the Graphene XT Prestige S exhibited a solid sound from the stringbed at the net, along with a precise, predictable level of power," added Mark. "The combination of an 11.5 ounce static weight and 320-ish swingweight is a good fit for my game. Those two traits of the racquet provided me with plenty of stability against passing shots, yet the racquet remained light enough for me to get it into position on time."

Serves - Score: 80

Starting off the point with the Graphene XT Prestige S, most of our playtesters would have liked more free power on their serves. Tiffani had to give full effort on her serves. She said, "I could hit some effective serves with this racquet, but once again my success relied on me really going after my swing. When I wasn't concentrating on swinging through and getting my body into the serve I hit fairly weak serves. As long as I wasn't lazy I could be effective hitting my serves with good placement."

"I playtested this racquet along side the Rev Pro, and I really appreciated the mass behind my serve," said Brittany. "When I was going up and after the ball my serves were really going through the service box instead of sitting up, which I appreciated. However, when I wasn't focused on accelerating my racquet a lot of my serves dumped into the net. I wasn't as consistent as I wanted to be."

Mark was happy with the serves he was hitting with the Graphene XT Prestige S, saying, "My love for this racquet carried over to the serve. With its weight/balance, firm beam and traditional open string pattern I was able to generate ample amounts of pace on serve and plenty of spin, too."

Something was missing from Jason's serve. He said, "I was left wanting more 'oomph' on my serve. Even when I strung the Graphene XT Prestige S in the mid-40s the power wasn't where I needed it to be. Because I slice both my 1st and 2nd serve, I did appreciate the amount of spin I could put on my serves. The directional control was above average as well."

Returns - Score: 79

Although they were missing some power on their serves, our playtesters used the more control-oriented feel of the Graphene XT Prestige S to their advantage on returns. Jason raved, "This was a shot where I could wind up and take a big swing at the ball. Because the Graphene XT Prestige S is low powered and maneuverable, I could go for aggressive shots without fear of hitting long. The open string pattern also helped keep the ball in play. However, when I had to block a serve back my return often landed near the service line."

Mark continued to be impressed with the Graphene XT Prestige S. He said, "As with the other parts of this playtest, I was extremely impressed with the versatility of the Graphene XT Prestige S, and my confidence in my return further reinforced that notion."

Brittany had some ups and downs, adding, "I loved stepping in, taking a short backswing and blocking back my returns. This was the most effective against first serves with some pace. When I was returning second serves I had to make more of an effort to get enough racquet head speed to create some pace off the return so I could start the point off on the offensive."

"Like my ground game, my returns were a bit hot and cold with this racquet," Tiffani explained. "Against big servers I couldn't quite figure out what I needed to do. When I stood farther back to give myself some time I had trouble generating enough depth on my shot to be effective. However, when I was trying to stand up against the baseline -- or inside it -- to return, I felt the racquet got pushed around a bit. My return game is usually stronger than my serve, but with this Prestige S I felt it was the other way around."

Overall - Score: 80