Head Graphene Touch Speed Midplus Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 81

The biggest thing that jumped out to our playtesters when hitting groundstrokes with the Graphene Touch Speed MP was the feel. The new technology gave this racquet a much softer, more comfortable feel compared to the previous version. Tiffani liked the spin potential, but she had issues with control because of the lack of feel. She explained, "The previous version of this racquet offered the interchangeable grommets that let you change the 16x19 string pattern into a wide open 16x16 for more spin. That option is gone with this version, but I found I could easily hit all the spin I needed even without the super open string pattern. This Graphene Touch Speed MP felt really whippy, so I could generate the head speed for topspin and pace. It felt comfortable, but the muted feel didn't leave me with a sense of where the ball was on the strings. There are some racquets that I can sense the ball sinking into the stringbed, but this was not one of them. Perhaps this could change with string setups, but in the full poly setup I tested the response didn't give me the feel I wanted. This feel made me play more aggressively because I didn't feel confident staying in points long enough to play my usual counterpunching game."

Jason also liked the spin, along with the easy power the Graphene Touch Speed MP offered, but unlike Tiffani, he preferred the feel of this update because it was more arm friendly. He praised, "This update had that same easy to use, easy to swing feel of the previous version. I was able to accelerate the racquet effortlessly to generate lots of spin and a decent amount of pop. What changed was the feel, though; this racquet had a more muted, less firm feel than the previous version that was better on my arm and elbow."

Hannah thought the muted, dampened feel had its upsides and downsides. She shared, "This racquet was very easy to play with. I had success with it in terms of depth and comfort from the baseline. The muted technology of this racquet had some pros and cons. I liked the feel, flex and shock-free response that it offered, but I also found that it was hard to get my standard power and spin on my shots. I think that the dampened feel made me feel disconnected from my shots, and it may have caused me to overhit at times. For this reason I actually prefer the Pro version of the Graphene Touch Speed because it gave me a little more weight behind my shots with the same touch qualities."

Mark was able to utilize the Graphene Touch Speed MP well both offensively and defensively from the baseline. He said, "From the first rally at the baseline, I got the feeling that the Graphene Touch Speed MP was a lively racquet, but not overly powerful. With a full bed of a monofilament string in our test racquet I was able to launch quite an offensive, consistently keeping the ball deep, high and away from my opponent's strike zone. It offered enough plow through for me to easily change the direction and spin on the ball, even on hard hit balls."

Volleys - Score: 80

The Graphene Touch Speed MP performed well for our testers around the net. Hannah was able to place her volleys well, especially when attempting to block them back deep in the court. She shared, "I found good touch on my volleys with this racquet, and it was easy to get the depth I was looking for, too. I wouldn't say that my volleys felt like a weapon with this racquet, but they were landing way past the service line almost every time. When I approached the net with this racquet I didn't feel completely confident trying to end the point with a volley, but volleys were still probably my favorite shot to hit with the Graphene Speed Touch MP."

Mark liked the maneuverability, and he found that it took quite the heavy shot from his opponents to get the racquet to waver under pressure. He said, "I expected this racquet to be maneuverable, but I was a little surprised that I didn't feel it quiver until passing shot speeds eclipsed 75 miles per hour. Overall, I was very effective around the net with this new offering from Head."

Tiffani was having more success as she moved forward in the court, but she struggled once again with the muted feel of the racquet. She said, "This racquet felt fine at net. It was easy to maneuver, and I enjoyed the comfortable feel more at net than I did at the baseline. Really, my only struggle, which is a common one for me, was with touch. I had trouble finding my range on drop volleys, and I was either leaving them too short (in the net) or too deep in the court."

Jason was pleased with the racquet's performance at the net. He shared, "For a racquet that's weighs around 11 oz, it is surprisingly stable. The open string pattern helped me put plenty of underspin on my volleys as well."

Serves - Score: 78

For the most part, our testers really enjoyed the easy pace and spin they were able to generate with the Graphene Touch Speed MP on their serves. "The access to spin was very helpful on my serves," Jason said. "I got lots of bite on my serve to either slide it out wide or move the ball away from my opponent. It was efficient on many levels because not only was the Graphene Touch Speed MP easy to serve with, but I was hitting a high percentage of balls in. I thought power was on par with racquets of similar specs."

Tiffani's favorite shot to hit during this playtest was the serve. "I love the perception that I'm hitting with more pace on my serves," she said. "It felt like I was getting easier spin and pace on my serves with this updated Speed MP because I it was easy to swing quickly. I have yet to find the magic wand that turns me into an offensive server, but I'll take the added confidence any day. Thumbs up from me when it comes to serving with this racquet."

Mark was able to get good power on his serves with this racquet. He praised, "After playing with this racquet for a few weeks I developed a little more of a wrist snap on my serve. This was the best way I could generate an effective level of pace with it. I have been practicing my serve more lately, and after hitting about 50 serves with the Speed MP I really felt comfortable with it and was consistently landing my serves in the 90 MPH range."

On the other hand, Hannah struggled to find the easy power she was hoping for. She said, "I had a similar experience on my serve as it did from other areas of the court. I liked the flex and how easy the racquet was to swing, but I also felt like it was lacking power, and I struggled to successfully connect with my intended targets."

Returns - Score: 77

There were some mixed feelings from our playtest team when it came to returning serve with the Graphene Touch Speed MP. On the one hand, Mark was having good success against his common hitting partners. He said, "This portion of this playtest was great for me. Similar to my experience on the volley, it was not until the serve speeds were over the 100 MPH threshold that the racquet feel unstable at all. Overall, against the 4.0-5.0 type of player I most often encounter, this racquet felt sharp and precise on the return."

Jason also enjoyed returning serves with the Graphene Touch Speed MP, particularly due to its maneuverability and spin potential. He said, "I felt like I could attack a lot of serves with this racquet because of the whippy response, and the spin helped keep those shots in the court. For whatever reason, I had much better success returning down the line than going cross court. I was pushing the ball wide when I went cross court."

On the other hand, Hannah struggled with her returns. She critiqued, "Just like on my groundstrokes, I craved more power from the Graphene Touch Speed MP when I was hitting my returns. The maneuverability allowed me to get my racquet out front easily, but the Graphene Touch Speed MP offered little pop when I took the serve early."

Tiffani also struggled a bit. She enjoyed the maneuverability but she would have liked a bit more heft to combat heavier first serves. She explained, "The whippy feel really came in handy when I was returning. I could get the racquet around quickly so I could at least take a good stab at any serve. My returns were OK with this racquet, but when I hit it alongside my Prince Textreme Tour 100P I felt like the Graphene Touch Speed MP was missing some mass and stability for returns."

Overall - Score: 80