Head Graphene Touch Extreme MP Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 77

Our team got loads of power and spin from the Graphene Touch Extreme MP from the baseline. However, all that power was a little challenging to control at times. Brittany has playtested many iterations of the Extreme MP, and she found this version to be a little heftier and more powerful than past ones. She explained, "Having plenty of experience with the Extreme line, I hopped on the court with the Graphene Touch Extreme MP and was surprised to find it playing differently than I expected. I had to put a little more effort into swinging this racquet because of the higher swingweight, but once I got the racquet moving there was plenty of power. However, while I would start off strong with the racquet, I noticed my arm was fatiguing towards the end of my hitting sessions and I wasn't hitting with as much depth or power. Additionally, for some reason the racquet made me just want to slap at the ball, which resulted in a lot of missed groundstrokes. I had to dial it back a little, and I would have liked a little more spin in order to get my groundstrokes dropping inside the baseline."

Chris appreciated the power and spin, but he struggled with control when he tried to hit a flatter groundstroke. He said, "Big power and big spin were immediately apparent strengths of the Graphene Touch Extreme MP. The new head shape and aggressively open string pattern seemed to promote improvements in both of those categories. Even when I was on the run I was able to hit with surprising pace and spin. I merely needed a flick of the wrist to send the ball back with enough on it to either get me back in the point or win it outright. However, if I hit the ball a tad flatly it was easy to miss long. Likewise, when attacking inside the baseline I had to make sure I was getting lots of spin to help me keep my shots inside the lines. The Graphene Touch Extreme MP felt very firm and crisp from the baseline and a tad too firm for me up towards the tip of the hoop. I had more control on my backhand slice than I did on my topspin shots. I was knifing my slice well and was confident when I was being very aggressive with that shot."

Andy found the Graphene Touch Extreme MP very easy to use, but like the others, he was having trouble being precise with his shots. He shared, "Like previous iterations of the Extreme that I've tried, it's a very forgiving racquet to use from the baseline. It's easy to generate tons of pace and depth, even when you're not in perfect position to set up and take a full swing. It's also very maneuverable, enabling you to just flick the wrist and produce an effective shot with ease. However, at times I found there to be almost TOO much power. If I didn't emphasize putting enough spin on my shots they were sailing long when I tried to increase the pace a little bit. Also, a bit more weight to the frame would've helped my slices knife through the court as opposed to floating long."

"Hello, power!" Michelle exclaimed. "This racquet yielded loads of power and not a whole lot of control. I was rewarded when my big shots went in, but I found my consistency dropped off a bit. If I wasn't hitting exactly in the sweetspot the feel was slightly brassy, especially in the upper hoop. I also struggled a bit to find the sweetspot consistently, particularly on my backhand. There was very little access to control, so I struggled to feel confident executing my aggressive game. I found myself having to pull back and not go after the ball as aggressively because it was so easy to launch the ball off the stringbed. It was maneuverable and fast, however, and I found really easy access to spin."

Volleys - Score: 83

The easy access to power and spin made volleying effortless with the Graphene Touch Extreme MP. Our testers had no issues punching volleys back with good depth and pace. "This was what I'd call a 'point and shoot' racquet at net," Chris praised. "It offered a firm and direct response. It also felt like the ball zipped away exactly where I intended it to go. Volleying with depth and pace was very easy. I also liked the amount of spin the stringbed provided when I cupped under the ball to hit a drop volley or short angle. It was easy to impart spin on my volleys to help end points quickly."

Having a similar experience was Andy, who said, "Maneuverable and forgiving, this was an easy 'point-and-shoot' racquet around the net. It was easy to get the racquet in place and get the ball back deep in the court. The wide open string pattern in the middle of the racquet allowed for easy access to pace and depth, even when digging out volleys from my shoelaces. However, like from the baseline, I sometimes had a hard time controlling my shots. I opted to aim for big targets in the courts instead of trying to be precise. The stiff, crisp feel also didn't keep me too connected to my shots, so going for volleys that required more touch or finesse was a little tricky and the results were inconsistent."

Michelle found a better fit with the Graphene Touch Extreme MP at net than she did from the baseline, saying, "I had the fewest issues with this racquet when I was volleying. I could easily punch shots back at the net, and block hard hit balls back as well. It was also easy to dig balls out that were dipping at my feet. The Graphene Touch Extreme MP had good stability at the net, and I rarely struggled with the racquet wobbling in my hands. It was easy to maneuver and get into place, and I had no issues at the net!"

Brittany liked the hefty feel for punching volleys back deep in the court, but she struggled at times with the feel when she was going for shots with more finesse. She explained, "The Graphene Touch Extreme MP was stable and solid when I was hitting volleys. The (lack of) maneuverability wasn't as big an issue at net since my strokes were shorter and more concise. I would have liked a bit more feel, as I felt slightly disconnected from the racquet. I was ending points by just punching the ball deep instead of using shorter, angled touch volleys."

Serves - Score: 83

Pace and spin were once again the shining attributes of the Graphene Touch Extreme MP, and our team couldn't help but try to blow big first serves past their opponents. "It was easy to blast flat first serves or get slices diving or jumping off the court during this playtest," Andy said. "It was easy to generate racquet head speed and impart spin on the ball on both my first and second serves. However, as was the theme from other areas of the court, my targets had to be big because I wasn't getting the consistency I wanted. Pace and spin were easy to come by, but precision was not."

Chris found himself yearning for the grass courts from his childhood during this playtest, as he shared, "I found great pace and spin when serving with this racquet. Combined with how much I enjoyed this racquet at net, the Graphene Touch Extreme MP proved to be a great serve and volley racquet for me. I had lots of fun hitting an aggressive first or second serve and following it to the net to finish off the point. I was able to get some nice action on both my slice and topspin serves with the Graphene Touch Extreme MP -- both of which had impressive pace. This racquet was a lot of fun to serve with!"

Brittany enjoyed the Graphene Touch Extreme MP's heft for crushing her first serves. She said, "I preferred serving with this racquet over the Graphene Touch Extreme Lite. I found enough mass to really go up after the ball to create a heavy serve that would keep me on the offensive. There was enough spin on my second serve to really brush up on the ball and have it kick up out of my opponent's strike zone."

Michelle liked the power the racquet had to offer but had some shoulder discomfort creep in toward the end of the playtest, potentially due to serving. She explained, "The big positive of this racquet on serve would be all of the power! When everything came together, this racquet produced massive, big flat first serves. I was hitting a bunch of aces and found myself focused on my flat serves more than anything. I also found success carving some slice serves into the body or out wide on the deuce side and to the tee on the ad side. Knowing how much power this racquet had made it hard for me to slow down the speed of my swing, and I was rarely going for kick serves. The downside was the feel at contact, and the racquet really started to take a toll on my tendons. It is rare for me to have comfort issues, but it was uncomfortable if I didn't find the sweetspot, and I started to have pain in my shoulder. If the Graphene Touch Extreme MP was just a bit more comfortable I would have no complaints on serves. I could execute bombs and won a lot of easy points with my big first serve!"

Returns - Score: 78

Our testers were able to do a lot of damage with the Graphene Touch Extreme MP using just a short, compact swing. However, when the majority of our testers went for bigger shots there wasn't enough control to give them the consistency they wanted. "Similar to my groundstroke experience, there was just too much power at times," Michelle explained. "I love starting a point off super aggressively, but I would need to tinker with a stiffer string setup to help add control since I couldn't find enough of it. For the most part, I could tee off and execute big, offensive returns and was happy with the result, but I would still prefer a tiny bit more precision and consistency."

"I kept it simple on returns and let the racquet do the work," Brittany reiterated. "The stability allowed me to confidently hit my returns without fear of any twisting or vibrations. The need for control crept in at times, like it did when I was hitting groundstrokes, as it was so easy (and fun) to just hit flat returns. I had to make sure to add some additional spin and aim for big targets. I had the most success going down the line, which helped me start off the point on the offensive."

Andy said, "I had to keep things simple on my return of serve and stop myself from trying to go for too much. If I let the racquet do most of the work by taking a compact swing I could get my returns back deep and effectively with ease. However, when I took bigger swings many of my shots would sail long or miss their intended target. My chip returns also tended to float a little more than usual, as the lack of mass made it a little difficult to control that type of shot."

Chris had no issues with control and had a lot of fun returning with this racquet. He said, "I was surprised at how well I returned with this racquet. As mentioned throughout, this racquet packed some pop and I was worried about control on returns. However, I returned with solid pace and spin, and best of all, I was also consistent. I found I could use the power and spin very well on my slice backhand return. Both when driving that return or floating it to buy some time I felt very in control of my shots. My topspin returns had great spin and pace. I found my targets consistently and found the power level to be much more predictable than anticipated."

Overall - Score: 75