Head Gravity MP XL 2025 Racquet Review

Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.7

When it came to groundstrokes, the Gravity MP XL 2025 offered excellent stability despite the frame's lighter and more flexible specs. Each tester was able to use the extra leverage to hit some penetrating baseline balls. For Chris, this Gravity MP XL offered smooth, reliable precision that translated into spin-heavy shots with excellent directional control. He said, "I really enjoyed the silky smooth response from the Gravity MP XL 2025 on my groundstrokes. On a full and fast swing, the racquet made a great sound at impact, which lately seems to be a common trait with Head racquets. I felt very connected to my shots, and I was able to find my targets well. Along with the great feel came heaps of comfort thanks to the plush sensation this racquet offered on pretty much every shot. I liked the racquet the most when strung a little lower in tension compared to the other playtesters. We had the racquet strung at 52 pounds, but at 48 pounds I found I was able to get more penetration on my shots with little if any loss of control."

Mark used the excellent precision, plushness and reliability to keep his opponents pressed back. He noted, "My main tactic is to hit a lot of groundstrokes until I get an invite to the net or my opponent misses. I have to admit that the Gravity MP XL bumped up the quality of that game plan. I felt this racquet hid its length well in terms of being pretty maneuverable, but it gave me what I want from an extended-length frame, which is easy, manageable groundstroke power from its weight and length rather than from a stiff frame. It was easy for me to get the Gravity MP XL 2025 around the ball and through the ball, and every time I was able to connect those dots I was rewarded with a heavy ball for my opponent to deal with. The combo of a 100-square-inch head size and a semi-tight 16x20 pattern also worked well for me. The head size delivered a huge sweetspot, and the string spacing put tight rotation on the ball whether I needed topspin for net clearance or backspin to keep my backhand slice low and linear."

As something of an extended-length racquet aficionado, Troy felt right at home with the Gravity MP XL's spacing and swing style. He explained, "I really enjoyed the swingweight and how it felt on my timing on groundstrokes. In stock form, the numbers are pretty close to my racquet of choice, but I do have my Yonex EZONE 98+ weighted up quite a bit, so this racquet in stock form felt pretty light and maneuverable. I was able to generate some heavy topspin when hitting my forehands, so I really tried to use that as my main weapon. On my backhand slice, which is a big part of my game, I was hitting the ball deep and low. When it came to my two-handed backhand, I felt like the extra half-inch of length helped me drive through the ball and get a little more depth, which I appreciated. The feel on contact was nice and plush, so anytime I needed to hit my drop shots the pocketing helped me use my touch. My one downside from the baseline was that the ball would fly long on me every now and then when I tried to attack hard and flat, like on a short sitter. I know the difference between slapping the ball and not timing it properly, and I definitely had the prep and timing on these random shots that were flying on me. It just seemed like hard and flat shots were a little sporadic or flighty; maybe it has something to do with the way the racquet flexes."

For Oak, the Gravity MP XL 2025 offered a familiar feel with plenty of performance upsides. He explained, "The original Gravity MP XL was very near and dear to me, briefly being my racquet of choice. It was one of the few market-available extended-length frames from Head (in a standard head size) in nearly 20 years. I found ever so slightly better maneuverability from the Gravity MP XL 2025, and I felt like the updated internals kept me more connected to the ball. I loved hammering my two-hander with this racquet, and I enjoyed how the feel allowed me to mix up what kind of shot I was hitting. I felt comfortable going for very small margins over the net on my backhands. On the forehand side, the Gravity MP XL 2025 was punishing if I was late to the ball, and I felt like I really had to concentrate on swinging forward and through the ball to drive my forehands effectively. However, the racquet's feel and stability are sublime, and I loved how it played. Although I needed a longer adjustment period than anticipated, I was really impressed with how it played from the baseline. Topspin was easily generated and I enjoyed implementing more spin on my backhand than I typically do. Slices were downright dreamy, and I loved stretching out wide on either side to knife the ball across. Stability was good in stock form, but I can see how some additional weight would help. This Gravity MP XL worked like a charm for my counterpunching style of play. It's just so reliable and easy to defend with, and if I needed to inject pace (particularly off my backhand wing), it was entirely feasible."

Volleys: 8.5

One might think that the Gravity MP XL 2025 would suffer up at net due to its extended length, but surprisingly, our entire team jelled with this racquet when volleying. Oak found a reliable nature at the net and implemented the racquet's touch and finesse to great effect. He described, "Volleys with the Gravity MP XL 2025 were surprisingly good, and I felt like the increased maneuverability compared to the first generation helped make a lot of shots more accessible. Typically, up at net is where I struggle with extended-length frames, but this Gravity MP XL had my back. I found the feel to be comfortable, responsive and precise, which made volleying quite fun, and the length helped out a lot on stretch volleys. I was hitting a lot of drop volleys with this racquet and primarily using angles, as opposed to punching the ball deep. I felt firmly connected to the ball on my volleys."

Troy's experience at net was highlighted by his drop volleys and short, angled shots. He said, "I loved the touch and feel of the Gravity MP XL 2025 when I was hitting my volleys. It felt so smooth and plush on contact, and when shots were ripped at me with a lot of pace, this racquet absorbed the force and shock really well. Even with the flex of this racquet, it still had pretty good stability and didn't flutter too much. I felt connected to the ball and enjoyed hitting short angles and touch drop volleys. To make the Gravity MP XL 2025 more to my liking, I would add just a bit of weight in the hoop, a leather grip and some tungsten tape inside the handle to make it feel more head light."

Chris employed the Gravity MP XL's reach on a variety of volley shots. He noted, "The Gravity MP XL 2025 worked very well for me at net. I was placing my touch volleys with good accuracy. I liked the added length when I had to dig out tough volleys off my shoelaces because it felt like those shots were not quite the usual stretch. The length also came in handy when I was looking to put a little extra on my volleys to quickly end a point. The blend of power and control from this racquet fit perfectly with me at net."

The Gravity MP XL 2025 offered Mark excellent pace absorption complemented by an efficient disguise. He explained, "With reaction time being minimized at net, I want a racquet that maximizes ball dwell time, which is precisely the effect I got at net with the 2025 update to the Gravity MP XL. It felt like the softer beam and 16x20 pattern cradled the ball on the stringbed, giving me ample time to disguise and execute good volleys. If the situation called for a more offensive volley, the length and weight delivered a rock-solid response. If a softer touch near the net was required, the Gravity MP XL 2025 was equally as compliant."

Serves: 8.8

As our playtesters expected, serving was one of the Gravity MP XL 2025's standout areas of performance, bolstered by its length and elongated spin window. The Gravity MP XL 2025’s serving experience was a natural fit for Mark, although he would have appreciated some additional quickness through the air. He said, "For the most part, the Gravity MP XL 2025 was turnkey easy for me to serve with. The extra length made it a bit tougher to snap my wrist through ball contact, but it did assist my lefty serve out wide on the deuce side. My most effective and consistent serves were landing near the T and into my opponent’s body on the ad side."

Chris also found success on serve. He said, "My serves were accurate with the Gravity MP XL 2025. I was hitting my spots on my slice serves very well. I liked the arc I was able to get on the ball because it gave me some margin for error over the net, and it also had the ball dipping nicely inside the lines. I felt a little down on power with it strung at 52 pounds, but I got more court penetration on my serves and enjoyed the racquet even more when it was strung at 48 pounds.”

Oak also had a great time serving with this Gravity MP XL 2025. He described, "Serves with the Gravity MP XL 2025 were delightful. I love serving with extended-length racquets, and the 2025 Gravity MP XL's wider contact point at the top of the hoop is so good for brushing across the ball to shape kick serves and slice serves. It's just a really fun racquet to serve with. I thought second serves had great margin for error, and I really liked mixing up my serves with this racquet. My favorite serve had to be a flat or slice out wide on the deuce side. I wish the racquet was maybe a little crisper on serve, but the shot quality was high enough for me not to mind this aspect on serve."

The Gravity MP XL 2025 provided good action and bite for Troy's spin-based serves. He explained, “I typically find some easy power on serves if I’m serving with an extended-length racquet. I really enjoyed the added pop I was getting on my flat first serves, and there was still pretty good maneuverability considering the extended length, so spin and kick serves were easy to execute. I also noticed that even though it has a 16x20 string pattern, the string spacing is similar to a lot of the 98-head-size 16x19-patterned racquets, so the bite on the ball came with ease."

Returns: 8.2

Each playtester enjoyed the Gravity MP XL 2025's consistent and trustworthy nature when returning serves. Always crafty, Troy found excellent versatility when returning, but he noted a slight tendency to sail some shots long. He said, "I loved that slight bit of extra length and the swingweight of this racquet when I was hitting my two-handed backhand returns. I don't have a ton of range of motion with my two-hander, and that extra half-inch helps me lean in on that shot, be aggressive and get more depth on my returns. That is a big reason why I use a 27.5-inch as my racquet of choice. That little bit of extra leverage and the near-330 swingweight allowed me to punish the ball anytime the server left one hanging on my forehand side. Like I mentioned in the groundstrokes section, I had to be careful not to go too crazy when hitting flat forehand returns or the ball might get away from me. When playing doubles, I like to use a chip lob to keep the net player from getting too aggressive, and I had a lot of touch and feel with this racquet when hitting that type of return."

The Gravity MP XL 2025 was a versatile weapon for Oak’s returns, letting him step in with confidence or defend when necessary. He said, "As with any extended-length frame, the Gravity MP XL was a little harder to get into position at times, but the extra reach helped when in defensive scenarios. I was able to get a lot of first serves back, and it was nice to be able to trust the racquet to power through the ball after I picked a target. For me, this racquet's return performance sat perfectly between power and control. Against second serves, I felt confident stepping in and trying to put my opponent into a defensive position from the get-go."

Chris appreciated all the control this Gravity MP XL provided on his returns, noting the frame's ability to get him back in the point quickly. He said, "The Gravity MP XL 2025 continued to offer tons of control when it came to returns. I liked the feel of the racquet as it came through the ball. Despite the added length, I found it easy to whip the racquet around, and I was happy with the level of maneuverability. My slice backhand return was working very well with this racquet. I felt like I could knife the ball aggressively and hit a low skidding slice to neutralize the server's advantage."

Mark thought the Gravity MP XL worked well for his return game. He explained, "I feel the power level of the Gravity MP XL is close to neutral, with a slight lean toward power, which complemented the way I hit my return of serve. Guiding the return back into play with no spin or with some backspin worked well, especially if the serve was high to my backhand. And if I had the time to prepare, my topspin return was pretty darn effective as well."

Breakdown Summary