Tennis Warehouse: Head Graphene 360 Speed (Pro, MP, S) Playtest
- Thread starter TW Staff
- Start date
ForehandWinner35
New User
I used the first Graphene Speed Pro for the longest of any racquet I’ve owned (which is quite a few). I liked it but found it slightly lacking in power without the perfect string setup. I didn’t play with any speed pro iteration after except the latest 360 version which I’m liking. I have it strung with hyper g 17 at 50 lbs on a constant pull with 2 grams of lead at 12, and 2 grams at the top of the handle. The 360s stringbed feels a little more powerful, forgiving and crisp compared to the original. I’m a 4.5 heavy topspin player.
Well a final note from me on the 360 Speed S. I really wanted to like a lighter, easier to play racquet but I'm to set in my ways. I just couldn't adapt to the feeling of no SW and nothing in my hand.
I had to go mad scientist on it and I like it just fine now. I've ended up at 11.6 oz 8 pt HL with total 16" lead covering 7-12 cross strings, OG, Damper and bluetac in butt and strung with Signum Pro X-perience 17 at 52/50. I tried it with the Yellow Jacket 16 but I liked the 17 X-perience better. This racquet is a good platform for modifications.
Set up like this I find good power, adequate spin and control. My style is drive the ball through the court, not so much spin and kick up. Graphene still gives you a "direct" contact with the ball. There's no mushiness or flex built into it. Strung with a softer poly like I did I felt no real uncomfortable vibrations unless I screwed up. Combined with the firm head it seems to have a large sweet spot and comfortable play.
Thanks again to TW and Head for the opportunity to Playtest the Head 360 Speed S.
I had to go mad scientist on it and I like it just fine now. I've ended up at 11.6 oz 8 pt HL with total 16" lead covering 7-12 cross strings, OG, Damper and bluetac in butt and strung with Signum Pro X-perience 17 at 52/50. I tried it with the Yellow Jacket 16 but I liked the 17 X-perience better. This racquet is a good platform for modifications.
Set up like this I find good power, adequate spin and control. My style is drive the ball through the court, not so much spin and kick up. Graphene still gives you a "direct" contact with the ball. There's no mushiness or flex built into it. Strung with a softer poly like I did I felt no real uncomfortable vibrations unless I screwed up. Combined with the firm head it seems to have a large sweet spot and comfortable play.
Thanks again to TW and Head for the opportunity to Playtest the Head 360 Speed S.
TennisHound
Legend
Head size seems smaller than the Radicals. Maybe it’s the way it’s painted.
ForehandWinner35
New User
UPDATE - I switched the lead setup to 4 grams at the top of the handle while keeping the 2 grams at 12. The balance feels better and groundstrokes feel a little heavier. Loving the pro.
Matthew Lee
Professional
I got so much lead on this racket that it looks like it's 70% black/grey and 25% white. The other 5% is my dirty grip 
B-Line
Rookie
Great review....I've just picked one up and I'm really enjoying using it.Tennisgurl's Review of Head Graphene 360 Speed Pro: Part 2/2
Comments on Racket Performance:
-Groundstrokes:
This is a very easy to swing racket and worked very well for me on ground strokes. Provided excellent balance between control and power on both wings. Details below:
Stability wise, ground strokes felt very solid and stable. The sweet spot was generous and I did not feel any buzzing or jarring feeling when I could not center the ball. I did not even need a dampener. The racket also did not twist or anything along those lines which felt great on heavier rallies.
Maneuverability was excellent on this racket. It felt quick through the air and was very easy to whip about. I felt confident when attacking the ball and I could take big swings at the ball with ease on both wings. That helped greatly in defensive situations especially.
Control was one of the key attributes on groundstrokes. Plenty of precise ground strokes thanks to the 18x20 string pattern. You can tell that this racket has been made keeping control in mind. It was very easy to drive the ball as well as brush for spin albeit spin was average at best. I felt confident that I could create the necessary angles to get my opponent off the court or at least get out of position for an easier put away shot. Slices were low and deep as well. I found them very penetrating even if not with a lot of action on them.
Power was never an issue. There was plenty of power probably due to a more thicker beam and wider string spacing from before. There was never a situation where I felt my balls were going short or not deep enough on ground strokes. In fact, I found it great whenever I was on the run and whenever I found myself out of position.
Spin was decent but not great. I know that I there are other rackets that I can produce more spin with, In the end I know technique matters a lot and I am working on improving it as mentioned above.
Feel was good. I would not describe the feedback on ground strokes as muted probably because I have played with foam filled racquets (and the DR98) and I would consider those racquets muted. This felt more livelier to me.
Comfort was great on groundstrokes. The racket is very arm friendly and very on par with it's advertised RA of 62. I felt I could even go tighter with string tension, if I needed, without hesitation.
-Serves:
I really liked serving with this racket. Details below:
Adjustment period was minimal. In fact I did not need any time to adjust for serving with the Head Graphene 360 Speed Pro. The racket was maneuverable enough to go through the air quickly and give me plenty of power and decent spin on serves, as needed.
First serves were a breeze. I could hit them with power, hit them very flat and get a lot of control on whichever side of the service box I wanted to got for. The first serves gave me excellent power and depth.
Second serves were also very easy. I could slice them in very controlled and I could go down the line or out wide very easily. I am still learning to kick serve so I can not get those right whichever racket you give me, lol, so that is on me. Other than that serving was a pleasure with this racket.
Overall, I will say that for me serving was the best feature of Graphene 360 Speed Pro. It made me feel like I was in control of the point from the very beginning.
-Volleys:
Good stability in volleying. I loved volleying with the Head Graphene 360 Speed Pro. Same for overheads, no problems there.
Redirecting incoming balls was a breeze. Just point and shoot for all types of balls (heavy spin, flat, side spin etc) and I was able to punch a few volleys nicely too with ease.
No twisting or wobbling on volleys for me. As mentioned above, I like to finish points quickly and rush the net and I felt in control and very confident every time I approached the net. The racket is also very stable at net even if ball misses the sweet spot. Just point and ball goes where you want.
I really think this is a great volleying racket. Off course, I will say that if you are used to playing with heavier rackets, you might find this one to be a less stable. I had no such issues or thoughts however.
-Serve returns:
I feel that the racket performed admirably on serve returns. I did not have any trouble returning both first and second serves. It was whippy yet stable on serve returns. For those who like to play with heavier rackets I can recommend adding maybe a little bit of weight on the hoop but it worked great for me in stock form.
Slice and chip returns were great on first serves (think wristy return on stretch) where it is harder to get on top of the ball. Still, no issues in redirecting such serves.
Full confident swings on second serves made for excellent returns on slower serves. I like to take big swings at second serves and this racket gave me a lot of confidence to go for those shots.
General reaction/comments on overall performance:
I made note of a few observations I will mention below:
1. At first I thought I would not like the plain black and white paint job of the racket. But it grew on me. The racket looks beautiful and crisp. The paint job is not as minimalist as you would first think though with small details, speed pro logos & technology info etc written all around.
2. Play wise this racket reminded me very much of my Prince Textreme Tour 100P. They both have the 100sq inch head size and 18x20 pattern. The Textreme Tour 100P is known to have more of an open 18x20 pattern and with this new Graphene 360 edition of Speed Pro, they have made the 18x20 more open as well. Head Graphene 360 Speed Pro was more livelier though and felt softer to me comparatively as well. But overall, I could see the similarities in play for me.
3. I am also adding my general score chart for all attributes keeping in line with tradition of the TW official playtesters:
Conclusion:
I will highly recommend Head Graphene 360 Speed Pro to players wanting a good blend of power, control and comfort. I feel that advanced players will find this racket to be very modifiable given the lighter swing weight and static weight. It is an offering which is for everyone and I will recommend everyone definitely give it a try and demo it.
Finally, I will end my review by thanking the awesome people here at @TW Staff and Head tennis once again for this opportunity. I am very greatful to have been selected and I hope to be a part of more play tests doing the best I can.
Ciao,
Tennisgurl
