Head Graphene XT Rev Pro

Price:

$

Head Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro Racquet Scores
Power	78
Comfort	74
Touch/Feel	74
Serves	64
Groundstrokes	81
Returns	77
Slice	74
Topspin	85
Volleys	74
Overall	78

Upsides

• String pattern options
• Light and maneuverable
• Forgiving

Downsides

• Some instability

Summary

Head introduces a unique option with the Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro racquet. A new grommet system, appropriately named Adaptive String Pattern, features interchangeable 16x19 and 16x16 grommet systems that allow players to pick their string pattern each time they restring the racquet. The 16x19 string pattern gives the racquet more control, but less spin. The 16x16 string pattern increases the spin and power, but reduces the control. Weighing in at just 10 ounces strung, the Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro maintains a stable and quick response with its extended length. With the addition of Graphene XT, an even stronger and lighter version of Graphene, this racquet plays light and fast. Noting the easy maneuverability and just a slight loss in stability, this racquet was able to hang with the best of them from most areas of the court. While not everyone on our team found it to be a perfect match for their games, each was happily surprised with the power and control that they found. All in all, we think this racquet is a great starting point for players looking for a customization platform or players looking to transition into -- or out of -- a heavier player's spec racquet.

Groundstrokes - Score: 81

When grabbing the Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro for the first time, our playtesters were slightly wary of what they were going to get from a racquet weighing in at just 10 ounces strung. However, this racquet proved to be powerful and lively thanks to the addition of Graphene XT. With two string patterns to choose from, our team also found they could pick spin or control, depending on which grommet they chose. Our team was happy to report that they were impressed with how this racquet performed form the baseline. Andy began, "You know what? This racquet really surprised me. I found it forgiving and easy to swing, and it had control, all while having plenty of access to power and spin. Considering its low weight, I was shocked that it plowed through the ball relatively well and stayed pretty stable through the hitting zone. The 16x16 pattern really had some serious spin potential, but I had trouble controlling it on my flatter backhand side. While I enjoyed hitting topspin forehands with the more open pattern, I have to say I preferred the 16x19 for better control."

The Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro felt fast to Troy because it's more than 2 ounces lighter than his normal spec, but he was amazed to find decent control. He commented, "This racquet felt like a fly swatter in my hand. The maneuverability was helpful when hitting forehands on the run, but I also struggled to find my timing on groundstrokes when I took full swings. The overall lack of mass was evident when facing opponents who hit with good pace and depth; I just felt that the racquet was getting pushed around a bit more than I would have liked. I was surprised by the amount of control I had, especially with the more traditional 16x19 string pattern. Typically, lighter and stiffer racquets can feel a bit lively and hard to predict, but I found decent control when being aggressive off the ground. With the more open 16x16 string pattern my groundstrokes had some added shape -- a higher trajectory and a more aggressive drop-off at the end. Overall, I preferred the standard 16x19 string pattern."

"Considering this racquet is lighter than anything I ever hit with, it did the job," began Michelle. "To be honest, it wasn't a bad option, it just didn't produce a heavy enough ball for me to hurt my opponent. Between the 16x16 and 16x19 string patterns, I gravitated toward the 16x19 pattern because the 16x16 was too lively for me and I couldn't find much predictability. With that said, I spent most of my time hitting with the 16x19 pattern. Also, I never really noticed the extra length in this racquet, but that length helped beef up the swingweight, which I appreciated. Maneuverability was just fine -- it felt pretty fast off the baseline. This wasn't the most comfortable racquet to hit with; anything off-center felt a bit harsh, but it didn't bother me too much. Overall, definitely a fun platform for customization."

By mistake, Mark grabbed the Midplus version of the new Speed. He liked it, and he hoped the Rev Pro would play similarly. Once he began hitting with the Speed Rev Pro he said, "I could tell it was longer than standard length from the first swing. I could also tell that it was a lighter setup than what I'm used to, but within five minutes of warming up my groundstrokes I was definitely impressed. Literally all parts of my ground game benefited from this setup. The extra length allowed me to get some extra whip on the ball, and its overall weight let me get there on time, every time."

Volleys - Score: 74

Maneuverability was the one positive attribute that our team could agree on when taking the Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro to the net. Despite the racquet's lower weight our testers found decent levels of stability, but against bigger hitters our playtesters wanted more mass. Troy just never quite found his groove at the net with this racquet. He explained, "Because this racquet is much lighter than what I typically use, volleys felt unstable. With a hefty racquet I'm able to get easy depth on my volleys, but with this racquet it was difficult to hit a penetrating volley. The control was good, but my drop volleys didn't feel as a good as I would have liked. I preferred the 16x19 string pattern to the 16x16 pattern for enhanced control, although the difference wasn't huge."

Michelle was pleasantly surprised when volleying with this racquet. She explained, "I thought I would have severe stability issues because of the lower weight, but that wasn't really the case. The Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro was super simple to volley with, and it did what it needed to do up at the net with point and shoot accuracy. Although there wasn't a lot of touch or feel with this racquet, it was maneuverable and blocked balls back fairly well. I noticed a slight loss in stability here and there depending on who I was hitting with or what was being hit at me, but it was not as bad as most racquets that weigh in at 10 ounces."

"With the XT Speed Rev Pro's lower static weight, even balance and extra length, I reached shots that were otherwise out of range," said Mark. "The racquet never felt unstable. The net was probably my favorite place to linger -- even my mid-court volley was effective."

Once again, Andy was impressed. He added, "The Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro was really easy to maneuver and get into position. Even though it is so lightweight, it still stayed relatively stable on hard hit shots. I felt like I had pretty good control, but when I made contact outside the sweetspot the ball would land short quite often. I much preferred the 16x19 pattern at net for the extra feel and control; I found I lost control of the 16x16 at times."

Serves - Score: 64

Until this point the Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro had exceeded our playtesters' expectations, but when it came time to serve with this racquet our team experienced some bigger issues. Luckily, nothing about this racquet bothered Mark. He made just a slight adjustment to his toss to account for the extended length of the frame, but he suffered no issues after that. He said, "I did have to adjust my toss because it's too low most of the time anyways, but with the extra length I couldn't get away with my low toss tendency. Once I placed my toss a bit higher I got the same effect on my serve as with the rest of my game: improvement."

Andy had a bit more of an issue when it came to serving. "This is one area I struggled with the Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro," he said. "Regardless of the string pattern, I had a hard time gauging depth on my serves. I was constantly dumping them into the net or missing them long without really knowing what I was doing wrong. Also, the light weight wasn't helping me produce a heavy serve that moved through the court. I was able to generate lots of spin, but my serves would sit up for my opponents to tee off on."

Finding some positives, Troy commented, "The lightweight feel of this racquet made it easy on my shoulder when hitting a lot of serves. I felt that this racquet lacked a bit of power on flat first serves. Because this racquet is so light I was craving some added plow through on first serves. Because this racquet was so 'whippy' I really liked hitting kick serves. My topspin and kick serves were getting a lot of action on them, especially with the 16x16 string pattern."

Michelle was on the same page as Andy, and she really didn't enjoy serving with the Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro. She said, "The first time I served with it was in a doubles match, and I was struggling to find any consistency on my first and second serves. No matter what I did I was missing serves into the net or wide or long, and it became very frustrating since a pet peeve of mine is double faults. There just wasn't enough mass behind the ball to get it exploding up and through the court. My serve just felt 'blah' to me, and I ended up struggling with my confidence when serving. I played doubles throughout the playtest, and every time the biggest issue I had with this racquet was my serve."

Returns - Score: 77

Returning serves with the Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro was a similar story to groundstrokes for our playtesters. Michelle had no problem accelerating quickly through the ball, but she wasn't as effective as she would have liked. She said, "I just never felt like I had enough oomph behind the ball to do any damage to my opponent."

The maneuverability and control with the 16x19 string pattern was very effective for Andy when returning serve. He said, "I could get the Graphene XT Speed Rev Pro around my body quickly and place the ball where I wanted consistently. The lighter weight wasn't ideal for chipping returns back, but I could hit through my returns and be aggressive with ease."

Troy also found that this racquet's control and maneuverability helped him return effectively in doubles. He commented, "When facing big first serves I could easily flick the racquet to hit a chip return away from the net man. I would have preferred some more mass to help get my returns deep in the court when I played singles. I found that often times my returns were not getting enough depth or pace."

The combination of length, weight, balance and string pattern continued to work very well for Mark when he was returning serves. He said, "I was able to control the ball height over the net, and most of the time it was far better to keep it low to the opponent. With most wide-open string patterned frames I have a hard time keeping my returns low, but not with this Speed Rev Pro. Being able to control the depth and height made my return more effective than usual."

Overall - Score: 78

Scores

(Scores are determined by averaging individual play test scores)

Playtester Profiles

Andy: Open level all court player with a semi-western forehand grip and a two handed backhand. Andy currently using a Wilson Blade 98 18x20.

Troy: 5.0 lefty all-court player with a full Western Forehand and a two-handed backhand. Troy currently plays with a Wilson BLX Six.One 95.

Michelle: Open level baseline player with a semi-western forehand and a two handed backhand. She currently plays with the Babolat Pure Drive Roddick.

Mark: 5.0 lefty all-court player with a one-handed backhand. He currently plays with the Wilson Steam 99S.

Review date: October 2014. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

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