Head Graphene Touch Instinct MP Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 75

The Head Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus is a maneuverable, spin-friendly racquet with a dampened feel. Brittany has had plenty of experience with the Instinct line of racquets, having playtested the last few versions released by Head. She said, "As soon as I got on the court I was reminded of what the Instinct racquets offer. The Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus was maneuverable and easy to swing, and I could generate racquet speed with ease. I liked taking the ball on the rise and redirecting my opponent's power back at them. That being said, it didn't necessarily translate into creating my own power, and I had to really work hard to hit a bigger ball. The sweetspot was smaller and in a higher location than I'm used to. Once I started making contact in the sweetspot I was rewarded with power. However, hitting outside of the sweetspot resulted in some instability. I could have used a little more mass in the frame on my slices and some of my flat shots."

"I've hit with a couple of different iterations of the Instinct, and I was expecting a maneuverable racquet with some free power," said Tiffani. "However, this Graphene Touch Instinct felt lower powered to me than the Graphene XT version. I had to swing harder to get depth and pace. For my first few hitting sessions with this racquet it was strung with Head Velocity MLT. I struggled to get any spin on my shots at all with this setup, and I found a clean feel at impact. When we switched the strings to Luxilon ALU Power the spin came more easily, although it wasn't mind blowing, but the response became too dead for me. The Graphene Touch Instinct felt precise when I was on top of my game, and it allowed me to move my opponents around the court, but when I wasn't playing my best I really fell flat. The racquet just didn't have enough pop for me."

Hannah struggled to connect with the Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus. She critiqued, "It was tough to find a rhythm. I found it difficult to get a good feel for the ball from the baseline. This racquet had a really dead feel that made it uncomfortable when I tried to connect with the ball, and it didn't produce the results on groundstrokes that I typically strive for. It lacked power, feel and control, and although it was easy to swing, I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who likes to take balls early from the baseline. Trying to roll the ball deep or take the ball early was a challenge because if I made contact anywhere outside of the sweetspot the ball tended to fly. It's tough to say, but I think that the way this racquet plays could be good for someone who plays more of a consistent or retriever style game over an aggressive one. Lastly, slicing with this racquet was a breeze. I felt confident hitting my slices and was able to drive through them."

On the other hand, Jason was able to adapt to the Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus fairly quickly. He said, "It was a very easy transition from my racquet to this one. I felt comfortable using it from the very first hit. I thought I was getting good access to spin on my shots, and I really liked it on my backhand slice. However, I was struggling to get that extra pop even though I was swinging all out on every swing. I'd definitely add some weigh to the hoop and sacrifice some of that maneuverability for more power and stability."

Volleys - Score: 74

The TW playtesters all felt that the Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus excelled in maneuverability at the net. Tiffani enjoyed this racquet more at the net than from the baseline. She offered, "The lack of power that I found at the baseline became a non-factor for me at the net. This racquet didn't feel cumbersome at the net, and it felt comfortable at impact. Although there wasn't anything that stood out to me as outstanding, it got the job done."

Jason had some ups and downs, saying, "The great thing about this racquet at the net was how maneuverable it was. I found I could get my racquet quickly into position to hit a shot. Unfortunately, the results weren't so great once I made contact with the ball. The Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus lacked put-away power, and the lack of feel made it more difficult to hit drop volleys."

"Its maneuverability was one of the best assets of this racquet," added Brittany. "I could get the racquet in place for quick volley exchanges, and I never felt late to a ball. Deep punches and short angle volleys were fairly successful, but I never felt like I was able to end the point efficiently, as it took two to three volleys to finish the point. The lack of stability outside of the sweetspot was very noticeable up at net. I could definitely feel the racquet twisting in my hands, and I lost some control on harder hit passing shots."

Hannah couldn't quite finish the point up at net. She explained, "It was difficult for me to end points at the net with the Head Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus. I could successfully maneuver this racquet at the net, but when it came to defending, hitting reflex volleys and transitioning to offense, my volleys tended to fall short and I struggled with control."

Serves - Score: 76

The playtesters gave mixed reviews when serving with the Head Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus. Jason said, "This was probably my favorite shot to hit with this racquet. Because I didn't have to deal with the force of an incoming ball, stability wasn't as big an issue. I was able to serve with a high level of consistency and control. I can see how big servers may max out the power level of this racquet, but as someone who uses spin on both first and second serves, the power I was getting on my serves was fine."

Brittany agreed. She said, "The serve was probably my favorite shot to hit with the Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus. It was very easy to generate racquet head speed and get some good pace. I could hit a variety of serves that kept my opponents guessing. I was even able to hit a couple aces on slice serves out wide. I had to be a little bit more conservative when hitting second serves, but I was still able to be neutral when starting the point."

Tiffani's serve didn't get any better or worse with the Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus . She commented, "This Graphene Touch Instinct was a middle of the road performer for me on serves, as I got just enough power on my first serves. This racquet didn't feel like a weapon on serves, but I didn't feel like I was a sitting duck either."

Hannah continued to have issues connecting with the ball. She said, "I really struggled to feel the ball when striking through my serves. The Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus made it difficult to time my serves and get my wrist to snap over the ball. I ended up arming a lot of serves, and I wasn't to get any sort of pop, kick or spin action."

Returns - Score: 76

The playtesters enjoyed the excellent maneuverability the Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus offered when they were returning serves. Hannah kept her returns simple to get the most out of the racquet. She detailed, "Returning serves was standard. This is a maneuverable racquet, and it was easy to get it into position and defend tougher serves. I kept my returns simple, letting the racquet block the ball back to minimize the control and sweetspot issues I had on my groundstrokes."

"The good thing about the low powered response was that I could take full swings at all my returns without too much fear of the ball landing out," noted Jason. "I liked how I could get in that aggressive mindset and attack from the first ball. However, I was left scrambling when I was only able to block a shot back because my return would land short inside the baseline."

Brittany really liked how fast she could get the Graphene Touch Instinct Midplus into position. She said, "I was never late for a return, and I could take the offensive immediately. I could also block back first serves deep into the court. I needed to make some adjustments to my second serve returns because I was overhitting them, so I added some spin and aimed for bigger targets."

Tiffani never got into a rhythm on her returns. She said, "I was honestly expecting a little bit better experience when I returned with this racquet. I typically like maneuverable, lower powered racquets on returns more than I do for groundstrokes because I can swing out and still find the court. However, I was overswinging with this Graphene Touch Instinct, and I found myself spraying the ball."

Overall - Score: 74