Head Graphene XT Extreme Pro Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 87

Our team enjoyed the Graphene XT Extreme Pro from the baseline. The massive amounts of power, maneuverability and control were a great match for our team of four, and it was clear that power and spin were the standout features of this racquet. Chris liked how he could go from defense to offense with one swing. He said, "This racquet offered ample power to help me find depth and pace even when I was pushed way off court. The trade-off was that I had to be careful not to overhit on approach shots and shorter put-aways. A firmer, deader poly-based string worked great for me because it added a bit of control without sapping much of the racquet's power. There was enough mass in this racquet to get solid plow through, and I was able to drive through the ball well."

Andy, who has always liked Extreme racquets, felt completely comfortable and extremely confident with his groundstrokes from the very first hit with this racquet. He said, "The crisp and responsive feel of the Graphene XT Extreme Pro reminded me of the YOUTEK IG version that I loved a few years back. It offers an infectious blend of power, control and spin that encouraged me to swing big and aggressively. I also found it extremely easy to hit an effective shot even when I was out of position. The Extreme line continues to be one of my favorites from the baseline."

Michelle has never gelled with Extreme racquets, but she appreciated what this update had to offer. She explained, "The head shape of the Extreme racquets throws me off a bit. I feel like I shouldn't have any issues with the large, round head, but I struggled to find the sweetspot consistently in this racquet. The specs were right up my alley, and I liked the weight and swingweight. I did feel like the racquet offered more raw power than my Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph, and my PlaySight data showed that I hit my hardest shot with the Extreme Pro. However, on average I still hit a bigger ball with my RF97. I found easy power and could swing pretty fast through the ball with the Graphene XT Extreme Pro, and I was surprised with the amount of control I found. Balls that I thought I had overhit seemed to land right inside the baseline. I also liked this update a lot more than the previous Graphene version; it felt more comfortable, more controlled and quicker."

Marco enjoyed a nice combination of spin and power from the backcourt. He added, "The great racquet head speed generated enough RPMs to get the ball diving on the other side of the net. All in all, I felt that this racquet rewarded my long, fast swing motion and provided plenty of power from all spots on the court."

Volleys - Score: 78

With a 68 RA, the Graphene XT Extreme Pro felt stable, comfortable and maneuverable at net. Andy enjoyed hitting "point and shoot" volleys. He said, "It didn't take much to get the ball back deep in the court. When I had to stretch to reach a volley the Graphene XT Extreme Pro was stable enough for me to reach out with a firm wrist and hit something effective back. My only knock on this racquet at the net is its slight lack of feel, although that's somewhat expected from a stiff, modern-feeling racquet like this. At the net, this racquet is all about forgiveness and ease of use."

"For the most part, I had no issues volleying with this racquet," stated Michelle. "There wasn't a ton of feel in the Graphene XT Extreme Pro, but it works for sticking volleys. I just never really felt like I had a lot of touch, which isn't a huge deal for my game. It was easy to do damage with big swinging volleys and overheads."

Sticking a volley was a piece of cake for lefty Marco. He commented, "I found my volleys really penetrating through the court. There wasn't a significant amount of feel on this racquet on soft touch volleys even when it was strung with a softer string. However, getting it into position for either volleys or an overhead was easy."

Chris liked the stability of this racquet and was able to punch his volleys well. He said, "I didn't find quite the touch I get from the Volkl Super G 8 315 or the Pure Drive Tour, but the power and my ability to cut around the ball for added spin felt similar. Again, the level of power was a plus in defensive situations because it allowed me to find depth without effort. I didn't have any issues controlling the power at net -- I'm guessing due to the shorter stroke mechanics of a volley compared to a groundstroke."

Serves - Score: 85

Our playtesters continued to take advantage of the free power of the Graphene XT Extreme Pro on serves. Michelle liked how she could quickly accelerate on her first serves. She said, "I could really amp up the power on first serves with this racquet. I preferred serving big first serves rather than second serves with this racquet. I felt like I was struggling to get the same amounts of kick and movement when I was being craftier with second serves, but it was easy to win some free points with big flat first serves."

This racquet got Marco a lot of free points on his serve. He commented, "There was easy access to power, and while consistent precision was slightly harder to come by, I felt dialed in more often than not. I found this racquet favored flat serves more than slice, but generating some big racquet head speed for kick serves always felt like an option I could bank on."

"I liked serving with this racquet," said Chris. "Any racquet that gives me a little more pop on my serve is a winner in my book! This racquet helped me find some pace and access some good spin, and it was easy to swing. I liked serving and volleying with it in doubles, and I felt confident swinging aggressively on first and second serves."

Just like on his other strokes, serving with the Graphene XT Extreme Pro was easy and exhilarating for Andy. "I had the confidence to go for whatever type of serve I wanted, and I could usually hit what was intended. With the open string pattern and large spin window, spin serves were especially fun to hit. I could get slice serves diving off the court and kick serves jumping away from flailing opponents, yet I still found plenty of pace and precision to go for flatter serves when I wanted to be even more aggressive."

Returns - Score: 85

With a blend of maneuverability, powerful response and spin potential, our playtesters were dangerous when returning serves with the Graphene XT Extreme Pro. Marco said, "This racquet got me out of defensive returns that would have sat up in the middle of the court and made life for my opponent a lot easier. Even when I was at full stretch my chip return was a real weapon, and it was effortless to get the ball deep more often than not. I noticed added feel on returns in general. I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking that the ball might be flying a bit, but that was erased after the first few returns I hit."

This racquet helped Chris return with variety. He explained, "The easy access to spin helped me control the power of this racquet on returns. I was able to take a nice cut at a lot of serves and hit some aggressive returns. There was also enough mass for me to hit effective chip and slice returns, so I felt like I had a lot of options with it. Most impressively, I thought this version of the Extreme Pro offered plenty of comfort even when paired with a firmer co-poly string -- a nice thing to have on returns, as getting a clean hit can't always be guaranteed against a big server."

Andy continued his love affair with this racquet when returning. The forgiveness, maneuverability and spin potential allowed him to do pretty much whatever he wanted with his opponents' serves. He said, "The control the Graphene XT Extreme Pro offered on returns didn't stand out, but the ease with which I could go after returns with aggression or chip them back deep certainly appealed to me. I also really liked the round head shape for a little extra forgiveness when I was taking bigger cuts and trying to hit returns with more spin."

Michelle was happy with the maneuverability as well, adding, "I could really accelerate and attack returns. Unfortunately, racquets like this one can get me playing too offensively at times, and I forget to hit smart returns. I found myself attacking balls I shouldn't necessarily attack and playing lower percentage tennis because I could get away with it a bit."

Overall - Score: 85