Need advise - Radical MP Auxetic x Blade v8/9 16x19 x Speed MP

[anesom93]

Hello everyone!

So, I used to play tennis in my teens, from the age 11 to age 19. Back then, i think i was a 4.0 or 4.5. I'm not really sure, because i'm from Brazil.

My first brand new racquet was a Head intelligence i.Radical MP, with 98 square inches head size with 18x20 strings and 295 grams in weight. It was a great flexible light racquet, and it suited well with my game style, since i consider myself an all-around type, with more focus on control and touch.

When I got better, i wanted something with a little more presence, and I got a Wilson KSix-one, with 95 square inches head size, 18x20 strings and 332 grams unstrung. As you can see, it was a very advanced and heavy racquet (maybe a little bit too heavy), but i loved it and it was a great fit for my game at that young age.

In my twenties I played less and less, to the point that sometimes in two years i didnt play once. So, i'm 30 now and i'm planning to play again in regular terms, like going to the club two or three times a week.

I played a few times in the last couple a months with both the Head and the Wilson, and while i love the Wilson feeling, my physique today don't allow me to use such a heavy racquet for extended period of times.

So i started playing with the Head again, and it's still a very good racquet, but a little too light for my standards.

That's why i'm searching for something in between the two, in terms of weight, stiffness and swingweight.. After some research, i'm now considering 03 options:

1. Head Radical MP 2023 - 98 inches head, 16x19, 300g, RA 65, Swingweight around 320 - I always enjoyed the Radical line, with the whole "does everything great, does nothing excellent", great control, and as far as i researched, the new Auxetic seems to be a bit more like the old Radicals (liquidmetal, microgel, etc.)
2. Wilson Blade v8 or v9 16x19, since they will probably be very similar - 98 inches head, 305 grams, RA around 62, Swingweight around 318 - played with a v5 or v6 before, and i liked that its a very confortable, very controlled racquet, a bit like the Radical but with a bit less power and easier maneuverability maybe?
3. Head Speed MP - 100 inches head, 16x19, 300g, RA 62, swingweight around 325 - this one is a bit different from what i'm used to, with the 100 inches head (never had one before) and the higher swingweight. But i borrowed one once (a 2020 model i think) and i enjoyed the extra "boost" it gave my shots. I'm not sure about the control though, since i played for a short time. But there are so many positive comments about it (specially at tennis warehouse) that it made my list.

My current game is more of a 3.0 i guess, since i'm still getting back into playing and training more, but i still like to control the ball, with good serves, drop shots, coming to the net to volley when possible, and using a lot of slices and strategic placed balls with some spin.

So, What do you guys think? I appreciate any advice about these three or any othe suggestion.

I should add two important informations: 1 - I never quite liked Babolat racquets, cause i think they are a little too stiff and, honestly, a bit of irrational dislike haha. 2 - Where i live (small city in brazil) it's very difficult to find and demo racquets, since there are very few shops, so i'm actually trying to get an almost perfect buy without trying it for long (i can return the racquet, but it's a bit of a stress).

Thanks in advance!

 

[jdx2112]

Radical MP
-a fast and surprisingly powerful racquet. slightly lower trajectory than the other two. serves well. put away power is nice, jut need to focus on lifting the ball. a lot like the blade but more pop and less dwell time.

Wilson Blade v8
-very fast racquet but low powered. will requires some added weight to get a tad more pop out of it. nice dwell time on the strings. really good all around racquet.

Speed MP
-the new one seems too heavy in the SW, but I haven't played with it. Thickets beam of the 3 options, plus 100" head. slowest through the air. But a nice all around racquet that is very forgiving.

 

[legcramp]

Solinco Whiteout 305 18x20
Head Gravity Tour 18x20
Technifibre TF40 305 18x20
Yonex Percepts in 97's?

Your old Head Radical is actually a 95" head size, the speed mp plays way different than the older radicals mp like you have. I own the speed mp 2022s and have a few youtek ig radical mps, totally different from ball trajectory, more spin, more power, less directional control, and less maneuverability at the net for the speed mp.

 

[heavyD]

Auxetic Radical MP is an underrated racquet. I think that's the one that would probably feel closest to home for you.

 

[oldmanyellingatcloud]

I also play with the old Radicals and have come back to the sport in the past couple years after taking a prolonged break from playing in my teens.

everyone seems to love the new Radical MP, but don't be me and fixate too much on the differences between the latest version and the classic Radicals. I'd add all of the Head MPs to your demo list and see which one works best for you. if you could get your hands on a Gravity Tour (not sure availability in Brazil) that might be money

 

[anesom93]

Solinco Whiteout 305 18x20
Head Gravity Tour 18x20
Technifibre TF40 305 18x20
Yonex Percepts in 97's?

Your old Head Radical is actually a 95" head size, the speed mp plays way different than the older radicals mp like you have. I own the speed mp 2022s and have a few youtek ig radical mps, totally different from ball trajectory, more spin, more power, less directional control, and less maneuverability at the net for the speed mp.

Thanks! I'm gonna search and see if I can try those.

 

[anesom93]

Radical MP
-a fast and surprisingly powerful racquet. slightly lower trajectory than the other two. serves well. put away power is nice, jut need to focus on lifting the ball. a lot like the blade but more pop and less dwell time.

Wilson Blade v8
-very fast racquet but low powered. will requires some added weight to get a tad more pop out of it. nice dwell time on the strings. really good all around racquet.

Speed MP
-the new one seems too heavy in the SW, but I haven't played with it. Thickets beam of the 3 options, plus 100" head. slowest through the air. But a nice all around racquet that is very forgiving.

Thanks for the reply. I think the Speed will be too different from what i'm used to, and the extra 'pop' from the Radical seems more interesting than the feeling of the Blade.

 

[Dragy]

You can never go wrong with Speed MP to enjoy your time on the court. It's great advanced versatile racquet. But if you look forward to playing more and recovering your athleticism and skill, you may also like Speed Pro (a lot like your old Radical, but easier to use, more stable and easily powerful from the baseline, slightly more hefty), great all-court crafty stick which will also not let you down in defense.

Radical MP will also be good anyway, but it shines for skilled player who can use it, same with Blade imho. And forgiveness is a concern a bit, those sticks are best if your main focus on court is clean striking, imho. But that's splitting hairs more than actually judging racquets

BTW, your old i.Radical is actually 95 because of how Head used to measure racquet hoops differently.

 

[juliotfp]

Thanks for the reply. I think the Speed will be too different from what i'm used to, and the extra 'pop' from the Radical seems more interesting than the feeling of the Blade.

Which one did you choose? Im from Brazil too. Witch city do you live?

 

[anesom93]

Which one did you choose? Im from Brazil too. Witch city do you live?

E aí, beleza?? Vou responder em português mesmo. Acabei escolhendo a Radical MP, e tô gostando bastante dela. É bem diferente das raquetes de antigamente, ela solta mais a bola e tem que ajustar pra controlar, e ainda não peguei muito o jeito dela na esquerda. Mas é bem confortável e ela dá um pouco mais de potência sem esforço. Ainda fico na dúvida se devia ter pego a Blade, e quero testar ela com alguém que tenha, mas ainda não consegui. A Speed eu descartei porque é muito diferente do que to acostumado.
Sou de Campo Grande/MS, e você?

 

[Trip]

For those who are wondering was @anesom93 stated above, he went Radical MP, liked it for the most part, was wondering if he should have gone with the Blade and discarded the Speed MP, as it's very different from what he's used to.

I'd say stick with the Radical. It's one of the most balanced sticks out there, and a great game stabilization and learning tool. I've personally watched my most common hitting partner improve from about a 3.5 to a 4.0+ in the span of 18 months with the Rad MP (first the G360, then G360+), and he's admitted several times along the way that for as much as it helps in nearly all aspects of his game, it does the most for him by just getting out of the way and letting him play how he chooses to. If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what would be.

Beyond that, the Radical will take customization pretty well, and it's fairly string agnostic. My hitting partner tried everything from stock to leaded up at 335sw, and ended up with about 4g of lead at 10 & 2, and a spec of ~330g/32.5cm/327sw, and really liking YTEX Square-X 1.25 / IsoSpeed Cream 1.28 at 44/42 (lockout, so ~42/40 eCP). Great setup for him, and hits a pretty nice ball!

 

[Hit 'em clean]

The Speed MP will be a very different experience than the current racquets you've played with. It's a good racquet but think of it as a tamer Babolat PA. The Radical MP or Blade V9 would fit much better based on what you're used to in player's frames. Personally I like the Blade V9 better. I played the Radical Pro a lot in the past, but never gelled with the MP versions. They always seemed to play stiff and under powered to me and the Pro versions. You'll get more easy access to spin with the Radical MP and if you like Head it should be a safe bet. Blade v9 is a really good racquet as well so if you aren't afraid to dip you toe into the Wilson waters... it's a fantastic racquet.

 

[sixtyseries]

I'm coming from Blade 98 V8 to Babolat PS 1620 2024. It's honestly more comfortable to me personally than the Blade for some reason. I demo'd the Speed MP alongside the PS. I liked the Speed as well, but the PS felt more connected for me. I know you mentioned your feelings about Babolat, just thought I'd weigh in with my experience.

 

[anesom93]

For those who are wondering was @anesom93 stated above, he went Radical MP, liked it for the most part, was wondering if he should have gone with the Blade and discarded the Speed MP, as it's very different from what he's used to.

I'd say stick with the Radical. It's one of the most balanced sticks out there, and a great game stabilization and learning tool. I've personally watched my most common hitting partner improve from about a 3.5 to a 4.0+ in the span of 18 months with the Rad MP (first the G360, then G360+), and he's admitted several times along the way that for as much as it helps in nearly all aspects of his game, it does the most for him by just getting out of the way and letting him play how he chooses to. If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what would be.

Beyond that, the Radical will take customization pretty well, and it's fairly string agnostic. My hitting partner tried everything from stock to leaded up at 335sw, and ended up with about 4g of lead at 10 & 2, and a spec of ~330g/32.5cm/327sw, and really liking YTEX Square-X 1.25 / IsoSpeed Cream 1.28 at 44/42 (lockout, so ~42/40 eCP). Great setup for him, and hits a pretty nice ball!

Thanks for the translation! I forgot that others would like to know what I said.

And I think i'm gonna stick to the Radical, as you said. I'm still trying and testing with customization, but i'm confident i will find a setup that i enjoy.