Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Midplus Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 84

Our team was delighted to discover a large sweetspot and forgiving response as they began drilling with the Graphene 360+ Prestige Midplus from the baseline. Chris started the playtest on a positive note, saying, "The true 98-square-inch head size offered easier access to depth and pace. The sweetspot felt very generous, and it was an easy transition from my Tecnifibre TF40 305. The racquet had a smooth, plush feel, and I felt very connected to my shots. This racquet felt crisper than the previous Prestige MP because the connection was still there, but I was getting more pace. I loved hitting my backhand slice with this racquet and felt I could place the ball exactly where I wanted. I also had excellent control on my topspin shots, so no complaints from me here!"

Compared to previous versions of the Prestige Midplus, Troy felt that this update was the most forgiving from the baseline. He described, “This Graphene 360+ version has the largest sweetspot, and It was relatively spin-friendly for an 18x20 pattern. This is also the first time that the Prestige Midplus has a true 98-square-inch head size, so maybe that's why it was more forgiving off the ground. Hitting this racquet next to the Mid version, I noticed it felt more maneuverable, or 'whippy' as we would say. Although this Graphene 360+ Prestige Midplus felt rather light to me, it still provided a good amount of stability on contact. I found that if the ball was hit hard and deep at me I could block it back effectively without much effort. My backhand slice felt nice and smooth on contact, and I could control the ball with ease. The downside for me was that I wanted a bit more plow through. I think that with a slight increase in swingweight (up to about 330), this racquet would have that extra bit of power to help me hit my groundstrokes with some added pace."

"I played well with this racquet; it has a similar vibe to the Prestige Pro for me but with more directional control and precision," said Michelle. "Even with the tighter string pattern, I found easy depth and good spin. The racquet swung fast and was very maneuverable. Similar to the Prestige Pro, I found I could defend well and gain control over the court the longer the rallies went. Transitioning from offense to defense was easy. Similar to Troy, I can always use more plow through, but honestly, I felt like this racquet provided a heavy ball with much more ease than some of my heftier racquets. My opponents mentioned that I pushed them back well; again, it was easier to do that with this racquet in hand compared to my heavier racquet of choice. This racquet felt like it had a large, forgiving sweetspot, and I appreciated that. It was also stable on mishits or balls that came fast or deep."

Mark's playtest started a bit rockier than the others, but he got his setup figured out and then truly put the racquet to the test. He said, "The first groundstrokes I hit with Head's latest refinement of the Prestige Midplus were not my best. The grip size was a 4 1/4, and it was strung with a round, smooth polyester, which is not my favorite combination. Once I found another hitter with a 4 3/8 grip size and applied one of my favorite gear-shaped polyesters (Head Lynx Edge), I was good to go! From my first swing with that setup, I felt right at home gauging my shots and aiming toward smaller targets on the court. By hour two I had concluded that this was the best Prestige Midplus I have swung to date. This new update made executing everything from topspin baseline exchanges to crafty angles and touch shots a bit easier compared to prior versions of the frame."

Volleys - Score: 84

The Graphene 360+ Prestige Midplus' large sweetspot and stable feel worked in our team's favor at net. As he moved forward into the court, Chris continued to find a connection with this racquet. He said, "I loved the amount of touch I had on the ball. Whether I was hitting a drop volley or punching a volley deep, I felt very confident with this racquet in my hands. I was also able to punch high volleys with enough pace to ensure they didn't come back."

Much like her experience testing other racquets in this line, Michelle found the Graphene 360+ Prestige Midplus provided a stable response at the net. She said, "I could stab at volleys I barely reached and have no problem making a play to get myself back into the court. This racquet got into position easily and held up against the biggest of hitters on our team."

The same traits that enabled Mark to play effectively from the backcourt also boosted his confidence when he was closer to the net. He explained, "The thinner beam profile, combined with the slight increase in head size, provided me with positive feedback. The 18x20 pattern held the ball on my strings long enough for me to execute a good volley, even when contact was not spot on."

One of Troy's biggest knocks on some of the previous Graphene iterations of the Prestige MP was that the sweetspot was relatively small. He said, "This update offered a bigger sweetspot, and I found it to feel more stable against hard hitters. I could manipulate the racquet with ease, especially when I was stretched out or off balance. I wasn't finding a ton of free put-away power, but I was able to generate easier depth than I recall from the previous version. I wasn't finding as much precision as I did with the Mid version, but the control and feel were right up there with the Yonex VCORE Pro 97 (310) and Dunlop Srixon CX 200."

Serves - Score: 82

Our team felt like they could effectively execute serves with the Graphene 360+ Prestige Midplus. Troy found good command over the ball when starting the point. He said, "Although I wasn't feeling as precise as I did with the Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid, I did enjoy a little more power in comparison. I think that the combination of the generous sweetspot and easy maneuverability allowed me to generate more power than expected. The power didn't come as easily as it does with my Yonex EZONE 98+, but it was more than I would have thought coming from a thin-beam, 98-square-inch head size and 18x20 pattern. My favorite serve to hit with this racquet was the flat first serve down the middle. I could generate decent pace and place the ball accurately. I felt competent when hitting my slice and kick serves, but I wasn't as effective with this racquet as I was with the Graphene 360+ Prestige Pro."

As long as this frame was matched with a profiled polyester string, Mark felt confident when stepping up to the line to serve. He said, "While this racquet was not a game-changer for my serve, I could switch seamlessly from the serve to a groundstroke or volley, which is sometimes an issue I have with other racquets."

Michelle was happy to find a good amount of pop on her serves. She said, "I felt really dialed in with my targets and could nail the T serve consistently on either side. Despite the tighter pattern, I still got enough grip on the ball to get my second serves moving. We did string it up with Lynx Edge at one point, which was a great combo. The racquet loaded quickly, and I didn't feel at all limited with serves."

The control-oriented characteristics of this racquet supplied the precision Chris needed to benefit from a well-struck serve with pinpoint accuracy. He described, "I got similar pace on the ball as I do with my racquet of choice. The power level fell in line with what I would expect from a midplus player's racquet with an 18x20 string pattern. I liked the way the racquet felt through my swing, and it was pretty maneuverable. I was also able to get ample spin to get my more aggressive serves to drop inside the box, which gave me some nice margin for error."

Returns - Score: 82

The Graphene 360+ Prestige Midplus gave our playtesters all the control they needed to return with confidence. Chris loved it and said, "I liked the added power I found compared to the previous version, and it gave me more options in tough situations. There was still tons of control, and I was able to find my targets on both aggressive swings and block returns."

As Troy noticed on groundstrokes, this update was much more forgiving than previous iterations on his returns. He said, "The combination of an ample sweetspot and easy maneuverability made it easy for me to be aggressive on returns. If I had the time to take a swing at the ball, I could hit deep and precisely place the ball near the corners, making it tough on my opponents. When I was stretched out or off-balance, I found enough maneuverability to at least lob the return back deep in the court. There was decent stability on contact against some of the bigger servers I faced, but I would have preferred a bit more mass in the head of the racquet to boost the stability and plowthrough. I found great control and feel when I needed to slice my backhand return, but once again, a little more mass would help add some depth to that shot."

This is the part of the playtest where Michelle had a tiny gripe, but she found it to be an easy fix. She explained, "At times, especially off second serves, the racquet came through too fast for me, and I missed my target. I tend to swing fast on returns, especially those juicy second serves that sit up in my strike zone. I could easily see myself adding some weight to slow the racquet down a bit so I can be more explosive."

"Even with regards to my return of serve, which has never struck fear in other players, I would say the combination of specs for the Graphene 360+ Prestige Midplus actually made returning serve easier for me," added Mark. "I most often try to chip the serve back deep to the middle of the court for singles, and this update to the Prestige Midplus catered to this approach nicely."

Overall - Score: 83