Head Radical Tour 2025 Racquet Review

Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.9

Our playtesters found the Head Radical Tour 2025 to be very maneuverable and precise, allowing them to take full swings while still maintaining control of their groundstrokes. Michelle had the opportunity to test out the Radical Tour against the Head Speed Legend Pro. She explained, "The two racquets are slightly similar, but they do play differently and are easy to compare. Based on their specs, I thought my favorite would be the Radical Tour, but when I played them side by side I enjoyed the Speed Pro Legend just a tiny bit more. The sweetspot felt a little smaller on the Radical Tour, and despite the tighter pattern and smaller head size, my shots felt less predictable compared to the Speed Pro Legend. The Speed Pro Legend has a slightly thicker beam and some new technology from Head, which is why I think I preferred that frame. The Radical Tour felt a tiny bit brassy at contact, specifically in the upper hoop. The Radical Tour did feel like it has a little more free power, and it was easy to pick up the pace and get the ball deep in the court. I had to adjust the string setup to get more out of my shots with the Speed Pro Legend. The Radical Tour was good to go as is -- no need to play around with string setups."

The Radical Tour delivered a flatter launch angle with good precision, giving Zsofi the confidence to hit aggressively from anywhere on the court. She said, "I noticed the lower launch angle of this racquet (compared to the Radical MP) right away, but I expected it from an 18x20 string pattern. To my surprise, I was still able to get a decent amount of spin even though the launch angle is flat. This Radical Tour is super precise, and I had amazing control of my shots. I also felt like I could swing out pretty hard from anywhere on the court, and I felt like I just could not miss! I truly felt in command of my targeting. The Radical Tour is definitely for higher level players; it is a bit more demanding, which you would expect from a 98-square-inch 18x20 frame. I wouldn't say this racquet creates a lot of its own power, but when you bring your own power it will reward you with a super-fast, powerful penetrating shot deep into the court. The racquet head comes around nicely, making it easy to prepare, and it still manages to stay super stable! I was very impressed with how stable this new Radical Tour is.”

While the Radical Tour 2025 is a little lighter than Troy is accustomed to, he thought it still felt very solid on contact. He said, "In terms of the weight and maneuverability, this racquet is lighter than what I usually play with (my racquet is also 305 grams unstrung, but weighted up to about 330 grams). I had no issues with maneuverability, but there was enough mass and swingweight to keep it feeling solid on contact. I loved the control and feel I had for the ball with this racquet, and it was really predictable. I also loved the slice I could hit; I could really drive through the ball and control the depth. I wouldn't say I got a ton of help in terms of topspin, but it was a bit more spin-friendly than the typical 18x20 racquet."

Initially, Munish struggled to generate spin with the Radical Tour, but after a few hits he was able to take advantage of the maneuverability and add RPMs to the ball. He described, "The new Radical Tour didn't feel as powerful as some of the other Radical frames I have tested. This could be due to the denser string pattern, but the frame itself felt more dampened and soft. It wasn't very spin-friendly, and I feel like there are more spin-friendly 18x20 frames, like the Speed Pro and the Gravity Pro. The maneuverability of the frame was something that stood out to me quite a bit. I was able to get a lot of racquet head speed on my one-hander, and that's something that I’ve struggled with when using other racquets. I was able to get good net clearance and depth on my backhand, and I really liked that about this racquet."

Volleys: 8.8

Thanks to the solid feel and predictability of the Radical Tour 2025, our team felt confident executing all kinds of shots at net. Whether it was punching volleys, playing delicate touch shots or going for more creative options, this racquet delivered the goods. Some playtesters even mentioned the generous sweetspot and the added pop, which made aggressive net play feel even more satisfying. Zsofi had a lot of confidence at the net with this racquet in her hands. She said, "I felt very nicely connected to my shots, including my volleys! I was able to pull off some riskier shots at the net because I was able to truly trust the Radical Tour 2025.”

The balance of maneuverability and stability truly amazed Munish. It let him feel fast and confident at net, even against our bigger hitters. He explained, "Hitting volleys and returns of serve is where I fell in love with this Radical Tour. The maneuverability-to-stability ratio on this frame is amazing. It allowed me to be quick and free with my volleys, especially against bigger hitters, and I was also OK with how my balls landed, even when I was hitting off center. Despite being quick and easy to maneuver, the Radical Tour 2025 didn't feel wobbly on off-center shots, which is a huge plus for me."

Michelle enjoyed playing at the net with the Radical Tour 2025. She said, "I thought the Radical Tour felt really good at net; I could punch volleys away or carve out some touch shots. I could play aggressively in hopes of ending points at net, and I felt like I could execute any shot I wanted up there. The Radical Tour 2025 was solid and stable, yet still had good feel."

Troy found the Radical Tour to be dependable and stable when hitting volleys. He described, "I found a very predictable response and pretty good stability on my volleys. I would likely want to weight this racquet up a bit overall, just because I am used to a heavier spec, but I found this Radical Tour 2025 pretty capable and reliable on volleys. The 18x20 pattern gave me an extra connection to the ball on drop volleys and touch shots, and the sweetspot was decently generous. Although this racquet is primarily about control, there was a little bit of added pop on my volleys, which I was pleased to find. It was kind of like the Tecnifibre TF40 305 18x20 in that sense."

Serves: 8.5

On serves, our testers noted the Radical Tour 2025’s maneuverability, accuracy and solid feel. However, some wanted a bit more spin, particularly on second serves. The Radical Tour allowed Munish to hit his favorite first serve consistently and effectively. He said, "I loved hitting first serves with this frame. There wasn't much spin generation on my second, but I wasn't hitting many second serves to begin with. I was hitting all my spots with good accuracy; my favorite spot was the T with a flat serve. I do wish spin generation was a bit easier with the Tour because I feel like the maneuverability and stability of the frame paired with a bit more spin (open string pattern) would've been amazing, but I guess that's why we have the MP. Overall, I really enjoyed serving with the Tour. It was probably my most consistent serving in a while."

Michelle felt like she had a lot of options when serving with the Radical Tour. She said, "I felt like I could hit whatever serve I wanted with the Radical Tour. I had more access to power than I had with the Speed Pro Legend, and despite the tighter string pattern, I thought it offered me decent kick and really solid slice serves. I leaned into the wide serve on the deuce side and really focused on knifing through the ball to open up the rest of the court for the next shot."

Although Zsofi had some trouble with her serves during the playtest, she acknowledged that the Radical Tour wasn't the whole problem. She explained, "I have been struggling with my serves a bit, and I wouldn't say that this racquet especially helped me, but I also don't think it was hurting me. I probably felt more confident hitting second serves."

While the Radical Tour didn't produce as much spin as some of the more open patterned Radicals, Troy was still able to hit effective slice and kick serves, and it was easy for him to snap his wrist for fast flat serves as well. He said, “This new Radical Tour was maneuverable and precise on serves. I felt like I was getting decent pop on the ball on my first serves, but the main source of power was coming from how easily I could generate racquet head speed. When it came to spin serves, I wasn't getting that extra bite on the ball that I usually do from more open patterns, but I was still happy with how I was hitting my slice and kick serves. I could maneuver this racquet easily, which helped me to go big on my kick serves to get the ball jumping off the court. On flat first serves, it was easy to snap my wrist and get some good ball speed when going down the T."

Returns: 8.8

All four testers enjoyed the stability, maneuverability and predictability they found when hitting returns with the Radical Tour 2025. While Troy was very comfortable driving the ball with a slightly flat swing, he felt that adding a bit more weight could help against bigger servers. He said, "I found good control and liked stepping in and attacking with my forehand return. I could drive the ball hard with a relatively flat swing path and still control the ball well. I found a lot of control and predictability on my slice returns. I felt like I could really be aggressive with my swing and hit a low, dirty slice deep in the court. If I were to customize this racquet, I would beef it up a bit for some added plow through and a little more stability against big servers. I also think it would be fun to try an extended-length version of this racquet since I play with the Yonex EZONE 98+. I think an extra half-inch on this bad boy would really help me get some easier depth on my two-handed backhand returns."

Michelle enjoyed returning with the Radical Tour 2025. She said, "I love 18x20 racquets on returns, and this playtest was no exception. The Radical Tour 2025 allowed me to feel comfortable taking big cuts at returns. It was maneuverable enough to work on angles, but it also offered enough plow through to get the ball to penetrate through the center of the court. I could also block back big first serves without any issues."

The Radical Tour's stability and maneuverability let Munish be a lot more aggressive on his returns. He said, "As I mentioned earlier, I found the Radical very stable and maneuverable, so that allowed me to be a lot more aggressive with my returns, even when returning first serves. I was able to get great depth returning straight down the center, but I also liked to direct the ball to the corners whenever possible. I started hitting SABRs (sneak attack by Roger) with the Radical Tour 2025, which then allowed me to be even more aggressive and finish points early. Again, I do wish there was a bit easier spin access, but the racquet isn't getting any points knocked off for it."

Zsofi had a great time testing the Radical Tour, and that's because the racquet gave her the confidence to step in and take control of points from the get-go. She described, "Serve returns were really fun with this racquet, and I felt super confident stepping into them and taking control of the rally early on. If the ball came kind of high to my backhand, I trusted the racquet enough to just chip it back, and I still managed to put enough slice on the ball to make it difficult for my opponent to hit back. The 2025 Radical Tour was such an enjoyable racquet for me!"

Breakdown Summary