Head Graphene 360 Radical S Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 81

Our playtesters were surprised by the high-performance feel of the Head Graphene 360 Radical S from the baseline. Mark tends to gravitate toward racquets that will complement his counterpunching play style, and he was happy to find that the Radical S fit the bill. He started, "The baseline is where I spend most of my time, so I look for a racquet that is heavy enough to be stable, yet light enough to be maneuverable. I knew that I would get a high degree of the latter trait with the new Graphene 360 Radical S, but I was surprised that I had very little issue with its stability. I love rallying from the baseline, and this ended up being a great baseline stick for me. I did find myself swinging a little faster to compensate for its lightness, but I was effective at changing direction and keeping the ball deep with lots of spin. Speaking of spin, I also really liked hitting my backhand slice with the Radical S, and the higher the contact point, the more I liked hitting that shot."

Brittany typically prefers racquets weighing between 11 and 11.4 ounces. However, from time to time she will pick up a lighter racquet for fun. She explained, "There have been multiple lightweight racquets I have enjoyed in the past (the Instinct S and Prince EXO3 Silver come to mind), so I kept an open mind coming into this playtest. I was pleasantly surprised by the performance the Radical S offered. The racquet is easy to use, light and maneuverable, and I was able to tap into the spin when needed. This translated into deep groundstrokes and enjoyable rallies from the baseline. I did need a small adjustment period to get used to the low weight, and I found myself making contact a bit farther in front than normal. The racquet held up for the most part, but as expected, I was experiencing a little instability at times."

"The Graphene 360 Radical S was a fun racquet to use when trading groundstrokes," continued Chris. "I liked how fast and maneuverable the racquet felt. I was able to be very creative with my shot making because it was easy to position the racquet and mix up my shots. There was a crisp feel at impact, which gave the racquet a direct response. I could line up the stringbed with my targets and fire the ball exactly where I wanted. The general response of the racquet made it a great fit when I was right on top of the baseline, taking the ball early and using my opponent's pace to redirect the ball. When I was forced to generate my own pace, I found that a fast swing worked best since the racquet lacked the kind of player's-racquet mass to push the ball deep. With that said, the head size (102 sq. in.) made the Radical S feel very forgiving, and the sweetspot felt pretty generous."

Tiffani echoed the thoughts of the other playtesters. She said, "If I hadn't been on this playtest, I might not have ever picked up the Radical S to hit with, and that would have been a shame. Although this racquet is lighter than something I would typically choose, I came away impressed with it. The sweetspot felt large and lively, and for a racquet that weighs less than 11 ounces, the Radical S felt pretty solid and did a good job of absorbing incoming pace. I would only notice that it was lighter than my typical spec if I were playing with both racquets side by side. I liked the comfort of this Radical S as well, and I found it to be pretty whippy. This racquet was definitely easy to use in stock form, but I think it would also be fun to play around with adding some weight to get it closer to 11 ounces strung."

Volleys - Score: 77

The Head Graphene 360 Radical S had a fast feel, with enough put-away power to end points at net. Chris enjoyed the racquet's playability when he moved forward. He said, "Getting the Graphene 360 Radical S into position at net was never an issue. The racquet felt extremely easy to maneuver. At contact, I found a crisp and precise feel. This was very much what we like to call a 'point-and-shoot' racquet. I felt like the ball went exactly where I had the racquet face pointing. I was reminded of the fast response of the Graphene 360 Radical MP. I enjoyed this racquet when punching volleys aggressively or even when adding a little more swing to my shot to help make up for the lack of weight. Again, the 102-square-inch head size felt very forgiving, and the racquet felt plusher and softer than the MP version."

The Radical S felt quick and nimble at net for Tiffani. She said, "This racquet felt comfortable and was easy to maneuver. The only issue I had was when I tried to bleed some pace off heavier shots. I don't have the best hands to start with, so when I attempted touch volleys I often dropped the ball too short into the net. The Graphene 360 Radical S just didn't have the mass I needed in those cases. However, it was perfectly capable when it came to blocking the ball back, which is more typical of how I play at net anyway."

Brittany was able to make the Radical S work for her. She described, "I could get the Radical S in position to hit any ball that came my way. I did make some small adjustments to counter the lack of stability. Right before making contact I was squeezing the grip and really punching out. This kept the racquet from moving in my hand, but it wasn't an ideal solution since I wasn't as successful hitting softer angle volleys."

This was the area of the playtest where Mark was most aware of the racquet's lighter weight. He said, "I enjoyed volleying with the 360 Radical S when I was prepared for the passing shot and my volley contact point was low. However, when I was caught by surprise or the passing shot was high and away, the Graphene 360 Radical S didn't have quite enough weight."

Serves - Score: 80

Impressed with the performance of the Graphene 360 Radical S on serves, our team was able to start off points aggressively thanks to the easy power and spin. The Graphene 360 Radical S made Mark reconsider his stance on the playability of lighter racquets. He explained, "Until I played with this latest iteration of the Head Radical S, I was an ardent believer that heavier racquets benefited my serve more than lighter ones. This Radical S changed that notion. I was able to consistently peel off serves that had approximately the same speed and shape to them when compared to my serve with heavier racquet types."

It was easy for Chris to get pace and spin on his serves with the Graphene 360 Radical S. He noted, "I'm used to serving with lighter weight racquets, so I wasn't expecting big plow through power like a player's racquet would provide. With racquets like the Graphene 360 Radical S, I tend to find racquet head speed is my friend. I liked the action I was able to get on my slice serve out wide, and my T serves had enough pace to be effective."

Tiffani had nothing but positives to share about serving with this racquet. She said, "The Radical S swung very quickly over my head, and I felt like I could be very relaxed with my motion. This racquet delivered some nice pop and spin potential. I found it easy to serve with."

The Graphene 360 Radical S also performed well on serves for Brittany, who said, "There isn't a lot of mass in the racquet, so generating racquet head speed was easy. I was also able to consistently hit flat, slice and kick serves. I would have liked a tad more plow through for my serves to really penetrate through the court, but I wasn't expecting it from this racquet (that's why Head has two other heavier models to choose from). Second serves could get away from me and land deep at times, so I had to really make sure I was adding spin to bring the serve back down into the service box."

Returns - Score: 76

The low weight of the Head Graphene 360 Radical S allowed the playtesters to get their racquets into position with plenty of time to spare. However, the playtesters noticed some stability issues when serve speeds started to hit 90 mph. Chris was surprised at how well the Graphene 360 Radical S held up against harder hit serves. He said, "Again, I liked this racquet best when really going after my shots, but I also found it to react well on block returns. The Radical S felt more comfortable and forgiving than the Graphene 360 Radical MP, which I'm guessing is due to the larger head and softer flex. With its fast feel, I was able to position the racquet very well, and I also found it easy to whip up the required amount of spin."

"The maneuverability of the Radical S on returns was its standout feature," continued Tiffani. "Because I could get this racquet around so quickly, I could take full swings and still find the ball out front. The sweetspot felt large and the response was quite comfortable, even on mis-hits. This racquet was stable for the most part, but when returning bigger serves there wasn't quite enough weight."

Thanks to the Radical S' speed, Brittany always had time to set up for returns. She described, "I was never late for a return and could hit deep returns off first serves. I had a little more success blocking back the pace with my return compared to my other strokes. I liked stepping in and being aggressive on second serves. Once serves started reaching speeds over 90 mph I started having issues with stability, and the racquet twisted in my hand."

Mark agreed with the rest of the team, adding, "Most often my return of serve looks like a half volley, and I feel it is easier to get away with that if the racquet has some heft to it. Head's latest Graphene 360 Radical S weighs in at a scant 10.4 ounces, yet it did work surprisingly well until serve speeds reached the 90-mph threshold."

Overall - Score: 81