Head Graphene Touch Prestige Pro Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 79

Our playtesters were hoping this Graphene Touch Prestige Pro would combine precision and feel with pace and spin for their groundstrokes. Troy was impressed with the overall precision the racquet supplied from the baseline. He began, "I loved taking big swings on my forehand. The control of this racquet allowed me to dictate points by placing the ball deep in the corners of the court. The fast feel of this racquet, combined with the open 16x19 string pattern, allowed me to generate topspin with ease. The fact that I could stay on the gas and create sharp cross-court angles helped me get my opponent on the move early in points. This was also very helpful while playing doubles — I could place the ball with touch or heavy topspin to keep the ball out of the opposing team's strike zone. My backhand slice came off this racquet with good pace and stayed low off the bounce, and I felt in total command of the ball. The effectiveness of my slice allowed me to mix up the spin on my backhand, which kept my opponent guessing. This racquet suited my crafty playing style well; I could execute a variety of shots with good precision. The weight and balance felt good in stock form, although a bit more weight in the hoop wouldn't hurt. When I shortened up my swings from the baseline and tried taking the ball on the rise the Graphene Touch Prestige Pro lacked enough stability and plow through to deflect the ball back deep. If I could raise the swingweight by 5-10 points this racquet would play like a solid and stable player's racquet."

"This Pro version had a traditional feel, yet it provided some good spin potential with its more open 16x19 pattern, which made it perfect for a flat ball hitter like me," stated Granville. "It had a very solid feel and more stringbed feedback. I really felt the spin helped me create a good amount of depth with confidence. I could walk onto a court with this racquet and feel confident playing against virtually anybody."

Mark, who is always testing a wide range of racquets, made some comparisons to the more modern playing racquets in his arsenal. He noted, "I've become accustomed to raw power from modern racquets. This Prestige Pro offered me power, but the power came more from its weight than from the stiffness of the frame. It took a bit of getting used to, but within 15 minutes from the backcourt I was right at home with this Prestige Pro. Precision is the term I kept thinking of while playing from the baseline. I was able to consistently aim my groundstrokes toward the lines, instead of having to settle for either half of the court. The more I played with it, the more effective I became from the baseline. The spacing of its 16x19 pattern complemented the other specs, like the weight, balance and beam firmness, which made both my slice and topspin shots very effective from the baseline."

Michelle struggled a bit to find rhythm and precision. She was hoping for more of a classic playing racquet rather than a modern one. She explained, "This racquet felt pretty fast and powerful, which made it easy to swing fast and impart spin on the ball. With the addition of Graphene Touch and the open pattern, I found I was a bit erratic despite the large sweetspot. I enjoyed drilling with the Graphene Touch Prestige Pro, but the second I transitioned into points it became too powerful and unpredictable, which made it hard to feel confident in pressure situations. I got good spin and depth from the baseline, and I must agree with the rest of the playtest team, the backhand slice always felt solid and the ball stayed low and cut through the court. While I feel like I'm being critical, I'm positive I could dial in the specs with some added weight in the hoop to make this racquet work more efficiently for me."

Volleys - Score: 81

Blending maneuverability and control, the Graphene Touch Prestige Pro played solidly at the net for our team of playtesters. "It was solid and stable in the sweetspot," praised Granville. "Like other racquets in this weight class, you will have to create your own power, so I really had to punch the volley for a crisp, clean put away. However, there was plenty of touch for the feathered volleys and drop shots."

Generally, when Mark loves a racquet from the baseline he feels the same way with that racquet at net. He offered, "There was no change to that scenario. Just as the Prestige Pro shone for me at the baseline, it played well anywhere near the net. One of the traits I noticed, and favored, was its solid feel at contact. It was nearly impossible for me to coax any sort of unfavorable sound from the stringbed, no matter where contact occurred."

"This was the bright spot of this playtest for me," Michelle said. "At net, the Graphene Touch Prestige Pro absorbed power well, plus it was very maneuverable. When I was drilling, and the ball was coming fast and hard, I found it easy to stick the racquet out and block the ball back. It was fairly forgiving and felt stable, so that was definitely a nice positive for me. I had no complaints at net. It was easy to be aggressive with my volleys and end points."

When Troy was coming to net with this racquet he found a fast and maneuverable feel in hand. "Compared to the previous two iterations, the head of this racquet felt less significant when trying to position the racquet to hit a volley. While playing doubles, I enjoyed the ease of use when I got caught in a quick-fire battle of volleys up at net. When I was stretched out or off-balance it was easy to flick the racquet and muster some added wrist action to help me get the ball back. There was ample power, especially when making contact in the sweetspot. Properly executed volleys had a responsive feel, and the ball came off the racquet with good pop. However, if I made contact just slightly outside the sweetspot the feel and response was somewhat dead. My biggest issue was finding a consistent response when trying to control the depth of my volleys. In a sense, this racquet made me focus a bit more on contact to make sure I connected within the sweetspot. After a few hitting sessions I found a groove. My volleys became more consistent and I could command the ball throughout the court. The Graphene Touch technology provided a plush feel and good comfort. The response was a bit muted overall, but I found better feel for the ball compared to the Head Graphene Touch Radical Pro, which was extremely muted. When volleying against big and heavy groundstrokes I found a bit of instability and fluttering in my hand."

Serves - Score: 80

The combination of maneuverable power and spin was a positive for the team when serving with the Graphene Touch Prestige Pro. Mark continued to praise this updated racquet. He noted less raw power compared to some of the modern racquets he has been swinging. He explained, "Once I got used to the way the Prestige required me to slightly alter my serve motion, I began to prefer serving with it instead of the more powerful racquets I have been swinging lately."

With such a maneuverable feel this racquet let Michelle ramp up the power on her first serves. She said, "It was explosive and fast, so I was able gain easy power and spin when I needed to. The open string pattern made it easy to gain some decent movement on second serves. Although I didn't feel as dialed in with accuracy, the second I started going for bigger targets I had no issues with hitting my spots."

Much like the previous two versions of this racquet, Troy found this update to perform well on serve. He said, "The combination of control and spin allowed me to execute my strengths when it came to serving. Being able to locate my targets within the service box is always an important part of holding serve. This racquet allowed me to hit my targets consistently. The trust I had in locating my targets helped me mix up my spots on serves and keep my opponents guessing. The maneuverable feel made it easy for me to ramp up the racquet head speed and generate loads of spin on serves. This update had a faster feel compared to the previous two, and I found even more access to spin and kick on my serves. Although power wasn't this racquet's best attribute, the maneuverability allowed me to generate a decent amount of pop on flat first serves, but it doesn't quite have the power of a racquet like the Yonex EZONE DR 98+. I found decent power compared to similar 95 square-inch player's racquets. The open string pattern helped me utilize my lefty can-opener serve to create sharp angles, especially on the ad-side of the court. My second serves jumped off the court with a lot of topspin. If I had one knock, it was that this racquet lacked just a bit of free power on serve. I think a bit more head weight may be the cure, but adding weight to the head will reduce the easy access to racquet-head speed."

Granville found the Prestige Pro presented him with a nice package of pace and spin. He said, "The 16x19 pattern allowed me to let my wrist fly over the top of the serve (I moved more Continental on the grip), and I was successfully sending those kickers flying out wide. I didn't find any extra power, but still felt efficient with my serves."

Returns - Score: 75

With easy access to spin and a fast feel, the Graphene Touch Prestige Pro allowed our team to take big cuts at the ball on their returns. Anytime the server placed the ball in Troy's strike zone the Graphene Touch Prestige Pro allowed him to generate easy racquet head speed and be offensive on his returns. He said, "When I was in a defensive position I could easily flick the racquet to help me get the ball back in play. I struggled with this racquet when I couldn't get easy plow through on returns, especially if I was forced to block the ball back. Often times, when I had to shorten my backswing against big serves, my returns landed short. With racquets such as the Wilson Six.One 95 and EZONE DR 98+, I can generate a deep return with a compact swing, but with this Graphene Touch Prestige Pro I found it difficult to get returns to land deep without a full swing. There just wasn't enough mass or swingweight. I was able to hit my slice returns and keep the ball low, but once again, I would have liked some easier depth of shot. The control and feel were beneficial while playing doubles. I found I could place the ball well with directional control, and that allowed me to keep my returns away from the net player. The easy access to spin had me dialed in with my cross court dipping returns."

While this racquet was quick and fast to swing, Michelle craved more plow through on her returns. She said, "There were too many times that I came through the return too fast, which created some erratic mistakes on attacking returns. As with most racquets, I also could have used a bit more control. However, it was easy to create some nice spin and pull opponents off the court. There was no doubt that I could rip some big shots, just not consistently. The Graphene Touch Prestige Pro came through returns quickly, and I liked how the racquet sliced through balls defensively as well. I would have been satisfied with just a bit more stability and plow through. Luckily, I can make a few of those changes with some customization!"

Mark kept it simple, saying, "The combination of the approximately 11.7 oz strung weight and low 320 swingweight let me do something that I seldom do — hit my returns with topspin."

"This racquet will deliver on all but the heaviest and hardest serves," stated Granville. "I enjoyed feathering speed off the ball to angle the returns. I could also take a big swing and clock the ball deep into my opponent's court. This Pro remains stable under power, yet Head took out just enough weight to allow for some maneuverability."

Overall - Score: 80