Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Head Extreme 2024 (Pro and MP)

Head Extreme 2024 Thread

If someone could compare the BoomP24 with this ETP24 I would really be grateful. I have been using a BP24 demo with a lot of joy, I am close to purchase one... I did not like the last ET unmodified. I tested both, the BP is way better.
tt.tennis-warehouse.com tt.tennis-warehouse.com
some specs on racquet weight, swing weight... from my experience with the extreme pro 2024!
 
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HEAD EXTREME 2024 PRO PLAYTEST REVIEW:

Playstyle:
31yo/5.8"/175lbs./lean, muscular, athletic build.
Extreme Eastern FH and Eastern OHBH
I play an attack oriented and hyper aggressive all court game (influenced by some of my favorite players i.e. Federer, Shapovalov, Evans).
I have a big serve which usually nets me plenty of aces, service winners, +1s, and double faults. My game plan is usually to hit my forehand as much as I can and try to create openings for short balls, drop shots, and easy put aways. My forehand has good margin and a penetrating topspin which I like to follow to the net for an easy put away or volley. My back hand is flatter than my forehand but produces the same kind of penetrating topspin. I do tend to slice my backhand more often than not as my height makes higher balls tougher but I do get a hard knifing/skidding action on the ball which I utilize to get a weak response and transition to attack.

Tennis Experience/Background:
I started playing tennis when I was 14 by going to a small summer camp offered by my city which was more of a day care but they taught you the very basics. I went there for two years until I was too old to attend. I played sporadically and only in the summer after as my high school didn't offer boys tennis until my senior year where I played first singles. I then played recreationally and more regularly throughout college. Post college I played about the same if not a little less. In the past few years I got bit by the tennis bug like I did when I was 14 and started playing more and more. I have started to take my game and improvement more seriously but am overall still out on the court for fun. I don't really care much about winning and losing as long as I'm playing well. I am predominantly self-taught from many MANY YouTube videos and currently play in a men's 3.0-4.0 singles league at my club where I do pretty well and am usually near the top of the leaderboard/rankings.

Current Racket/String Setup:
I currently use a Yonex VCORE SV 98 with 3g/0.1oz of lead at 10&2 and 1.5g/0.05oz of lead in the handle under the trapdoor strung with Kirschbaum Proline II 17g at 50lbs.

String and tension used for playtest:
I strung this frame up with my usual string of choice, Kirschbaum Proline II 17g at my usual tension of 50lbs.

Number of hours played with the racket:
Approximately 12 hours.

Groundstrokes:
I initially had a small adjustment period with my groundstrokes as the stringbed was a little launchy outside of the sweetspot resulting in a few shanks on sitters and feeds that hit the back fence. The launch angle was also significantly lower than I was anticipating but this was definitely due to the 8 mains in the throat. After I grew accustomed to the response of the frame groundstrokes felt great and I didn't experience much instability. Since I like to swing out the lower power level was perfect. Spin felt average to me but boy was I wrong (see spin section). However, it was the control and targeting for me on groundstrokes that I think this racket really shines. I felt confident being aggressive and going for small targets often which truly allowed me to play my attacking game fully.

Serves:
Serves were one of the worst feeling parts of the playtest but objectively one of the best. Initially the power seemed average, the spin slightly above average, and placement above average. As I mentioned above my serve is a big part of my game and probably my biggest weapon which I rely heavily on in matches. However, serving with the Extreme changed how I approached my service games. Usually I blast my way through my service games however, because the Extreme had average power at best on serves I had to rely on the spin and placement of my serves to get me into points on the front foot. Simply, with my current frame I serve far more aggressively because it has more tools to work with. However when serving with the Extreme I would call it "controlled aggression". I would use the inherent playing characteristics of the frame notably the spin and the great targeting ability to place my slice serves in the corners or push my opponent back with a kick serve. I would use the low power level and maneuverability to increase my racket head speed to really go after the ball on both my first and second serves. Ultimately I was winning just as many free points on serve with the Extreme than my VCORE but double faulting less. It just didn't "feel" like I was serving as good because some MPHs and variety were missing. However it was like comparing the serves of Roddick vs Federer. Both are great and get the job done well but one is more efficient and takes less energy.

Volleys:
There's not too much to touch upon here. Volleys felt great and were very accurate if you hit the sweet spot. The touch and feel on angled volleys were great too. I did have a little difficulty and instability at net with shots hit hard and directly at me. TLDR: hit the sweet spot and it's an easy point and shoot winner at net.

Serve returns:
For whatever reason this was one of the best returning experiences I have ever had with a racket and the relatively low powered response and quick maneuverability was a perfect fit for my game. If I slowed down my swing speed and hit the sweetspot I was able to redirect any pacey serve back easily and if anything sat up I was able to take a nice rip at the ball with confidence that it was going to land it netting me quite a few return winners. Anything that was a bit more challenging I was able to chip/slice and really knife my return back well allowing me to start the point on the front foot. Overall returns were great if you like to be aggressive from the get go.

Power/Control:
I think the power level of this frame is perfect for my game as someone who likes to play attacking tennis. The power was perfect for rallying without fear of hitting long but if you stepped on the gas you could pull the trigger for a winner. The control was originally a little launchy outside the sweetspot but after 4-5 hours mostly time drilling on a ball machine to dial in the feel and response I had no problems whatsoever with control. I think the control of this frame is by far it's most standout characteristic. You could feel the pin point targeting on every kind of shot, i.e. groundstrokes, volleys, and serves. Very rarely do I pick up a frame and have the confidence to go for smaller targets aggressively and consistently very quickly afterwards.

Top Spin/Slice:
I got a very tight rotation on my topspin which created a very penetrating shot on my forehand. Initially I thought the spin was only average but after hitting with my usual hitting partner and some college players saying that it was kicking so much that they couldn't handle it resulting in quite a few unforced errors. This resulted in me hitting my forehand as much as I possibly could and getting very good results with it. When you know you're hitting a ball that troubles your opponent and have the confidence to step on the gas and go for smaller targets the end result is only a net positive. Initially my slice either knifed or floated with not much in-between but as the playtest went on and I became more confident with it, it let me set up my forehand over and over again or poach the net for an easy put away. Overall I thought this frame had a great combination of topspin and slice that fit my game perfectly.

Comfort/Feel:
The comfort was great and I had no discomfort at any point during the playtest. This update is far more comfortable than the first gen. The racket felt crisp, plush, and not overly muted. The feel was solid on impact and I felt connected to my shots without the jarring raw feel of the first gen. I know a huge update to this frame that Head made was to the sound on contact and boy did they deliver! It doesn't make a solid thwack sound like a Pro Staff 97 RFA but gone is the tinny/pingy feel and sound of the first gen. I think this was a great a great update and I am a huge fan of the new sound on contact. I think it makes feedback much more transparent to the user.

Maneuverability:
There's not too much to talk about here. The maneuverability of this frame is outstanding which I believe has always been a trademark feature for this line. This allows for great reaction volleys, serve returns, and ease of use when scrambling on defense.

Stability:
This frame is definitely not the most stable frame out there however, it IS way more stable outside the sweet spot than the first gen and is a huge step and the right direction from Head. However, I do think that is could be remedied with a little lead tape and some counterbalancing. But for the most part in stock form unless you're going against huge hitters this thing will get the job done.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
In conclusion, I think it's a frame with some very clear strengths and weaknesses with a specific target audience for those who may gravitate towards it. I would say this frame is quite unique. It's marketed as a spin frame however I see it as a control frame in it's overall playability with some spin frame characteristics and liken it to a Wilson Blade 98 18x20. I would say this frame is made for all court/attacking style players that want to shorten points and play with pin point accuracy. The spin helps with margin for error, the low power level helps you stay on the gas naturally, and the maneuverability helps you to come to net seamlessly. The two knocks I have was the stability and I noticed it was harder to play defense with the frame due to the sweet spot and lower power level but both of these could be remedied with some lead tape. Overall this was a great playtest, great job Head, and thank you to @TW Staff for selecting me for this playtest I hope I can participate in more in the future.
 
Team TW:

Racket: Head Extreme MP 2024
https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Head_Extreme_MP_2024/descpageRCHEAD-HREM24.html
Grip Size: 4 3/8 stock. 4 ½ with Wilson Pro over grip
Grip Used: Semi-Western
String and tension used for test: The proved Lynx Tour mains at 46 lbs and Velocity MLT 48 lbs crosses. Strung at my typical range on an electronic constant pull machine
https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Head_Lynx_Tour_17_125_String/descpageACHEAD-LTR17.html
https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Head_Velocity_MLT_17_125_String/descpageACHEAD-VMLT17.html
Tennis experience/background: Over 20 Years of recreational non-professional tennis for the benefits of good health, sport and friendships on and off the court. League play with levels up to 4.25 USTA rating. Singles 90% - doubles 10%
Not overall athletic. But use my tennis acumen and skills that I have learned as a kid and optimized over the years with feedback from my friends to play at the highest level I can. Could I work harder on the court...? Yes of course. But I let my forehand do the talking.
I play tennis every day possible once my commitments to my profession and family requirements are met. I play on public courts. I don’t wear kits. I don’t wear $150 sneakers. I don’t add a pound of lead to my rackets. I don’t restring every week. I don’t post videos on the social.. I simply play tennis and enjoy it every chance I get.
I take it seriously enough as it is my passion, yet I recognize there are higher priorities in life. (I never ever slammed my racket to the ground or thrown it) that is a sign of weakness both on and off the court.
I do change rackets frequently because I enjoy the hunt better than the kill. yet I know its detrimental to my game.
I do participate in TW Forums daily as I enjoy the information I read to learn, laugh at the BS and look for post from my good TW virtual friends as this is a very nice tennis community.
Describe your playing style: All court non pusher with offense mindset. I aim to dictate every ball. I should be more patient and create more points. I’d rather win fast, than lose slow.
Current racquet/string setups: Most comfortable with the standard 300G unstrung segment. Preference are frames with lower swing weight and longer throats. My desired all dressed spec is 330 grams court ready. Current toys are Head Prestige MPL with Solinco Hyper G at 45 lbs. Also in the bag is Prince RipStick with Lux 4 G at 48 lbs and Yonex Percept 100 with ProsPros Red Devil at 45 lbs. All with TW GOAT worm dampener.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? Over 40 hrs. I used it for both practice and match play since I received it. Luckily no hand or wrist issues.
Comments on racquet performance for each stroke: It’s a Head Extreme. No ands, if’s or buts. Target audience is to those who focus on spin and loop.. so that needs to be considered when deciding on a Head Racket purchase. Head has the most complete racket portfolio with numerous tools for your preference and application.
Groundstrokes: While its intended benefit is spin and power. It also can offer pretty decent control and pop when hitting flat.(some in this category are only one dimensional)
I appreciated the fast and whippy characteristics, yet it offered enough heft to keep my swing in its preferred tempo. I was able to target the ball to each of the 4 corners (baseline and service box).
While not as “sharp” as my Prestige. It still offered good targeting that pulled my opponents off the court which allowed me more time to come in and hit cross court.
Serves: I was able to target the ball to each of the 4 corners on the serve. Its head seems bigger to me than 100 sq inch so it seems a little bulky to me but not cumbersome. I can hit all serves.. flat, kick both with variation to keep opponents off balance. Power was very good. Spin and kick/bounce also very good. I watch to see where my opponents stand relative to baseline to see the effectiveness of the serve. In most cases they did appear to be further back on returns. Ball seemed to explode off the court and accelerate after impact.
Volleys: Not a strong suite of mine. So I cannot effectively describe how it performs. It did punch the ball easily with a little extra pace. Overheads seemed to bounce extra high.
Serve returns: I judge a rackets performance on its ability to absorb pace which is key on services returns. It did this very well, while at the same time provided enough pop and control to get returns deep enough and directed to a desired location when possible. The short throat helps with stability. I could attack short second serves with ease.
Power/Control- Not overly powerful as the segment would suggest. Which is a good thing. Yet power is there if you need it.. It offers a nice blend of power to control. Its lively just to besure to add slight spin. Control is fine. I don’t earn a living playing tennis but it does provide enough control to win points in my matches. Most of my control issues are a result of my sloppy footwork and improper technique.
Top Spin/Slice- Per design. Its meets its design requirements. Its yellow and it lives up to its color in the segment. The Extreme has always been my favorite in this segment. One can loop balls all day and assure that the balls will dive down at the end within the lines. It does seem to push opponents back deeper in the court. I didn’t notice to many balls sitting up because of spin. What I like about the Extreme is you don’t have to rip all balls with spin to be effective.
Comfort- No issues. I must watch what rackets I use and string set ups etc. as my hand and wrist will hurt immediately. Grip size, shape and butt flare is also important to me as I believe this also contributes to a rackets comfort as well as performance.
Feel- Feel is a very subjective trait. I prefer a dampen feel resulting from both the racket, string and dampener combination. Some rackets feel terrible with a certain string while at the same time performing just fine. While Head isn’t my preferred feel in a racket. (Tecnifibre ISO is a gold standard) This latest Extreme feels more dampened to me than its outgoing model. Which I prefer.
It still offers enough feedback to let me know if I struck the ball well or not.
Maneuverability- Great, just the right enough of whippiness and heft for me with my game.. Swing weight to static weight is fine. I still feel that its 100-inch head seems bigger which impacts maneuverability. The Pro seems to be more of a 100 inch racket to me.
Stability- I didn’t have any issues. But I hit the ball clean most of the time. Even with off center hits, it was not bad. Again, I play recreation level tennis and don’t face opponents serving 100+ mph. The Extreme is fine. It doesn’t need 30 grams of lead. I will add 1 gram only to help with its vibration frequency distribution. .5 at 10/2 4:30/7:30. I do this with most of my rackets.
General reaction/comments on overall performance:
I mentioned it above somewhere that IMO this is the best yellow racket in this segment. While it’s not my preferred style of racket. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a very solid all-around spin racket that also can be used anywhere on the court. It’s easy to use. Winners and Aces come easy if you have some remote tennis ability.
Head is my preferred brand at the moment. They have a very good portfolio that fits well in every segment. Yellow, Blue, Orange, Black and Burgendy which still has a place in my heart. (reference my avatar)
While Tennis rackets are a personal choice. I often look for a racket that is more than one dimensional. The 2024 Extreme MP suites that requirement for me.
I still haven’t dialed all of my shots in with it yet. but I don’t have to think or worry during a point.
Power is there when you need it. you don’t need to ask for it or tell it to behave. Same holds true with spin. Perhaps someday I will learn how to play that full all-out spin game as know how effective that can be. at least the 2024 Extreme MP has that in its DNA. even though I do not.
Props again to those on the TW playtest decision board who choose me. It’s appreciated. Props to Head in being a recognized leader in our industry by providing wonderful tools/toys for us Tennis Players to enjoy as well as to win MANY Grand Slam Championships..and now Olympic Gold...

A
 
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Just a brief update, Head Lynx 18 took about two hours to settle in and play like I expect in a frame, while Lynx Tour 1.25 played as I expect from first hit. This is the opposite of my usual experience with these strings, Lynx playing well for me immediately and Lynx Tour taking a while to break in. I have experienced string sensitive frames before, which I don't feel this is because both strings perform well, but I don't often experience the initial break in period for the string difference.
 
Extreme Pro playtest review

Reviewer plays club tennis at a Big 10 school and currently plays G360+ Extreme Tour strung with Hyper-G x Ghostwire. Additional thoughts coming later after playtesting with Lynx Tour

String and tension used for test: HyperG @ 51 x Ghostwire @ 49
Tennis experience/background: 8 years - UTR 8
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Aggressive baseliner
Current racquet/string setups: Graphene 360+ Extreme Tour with HyperG @ 51 x Ghostwire @ 49
How many hours did you play with the demo? 15 hours

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke:
  • Groundstrokes
    • I felt really solid on the groundstrokes. I was able to hit through the ball and get very easy depth right from the get-go. It felt much more stable compared to my normal 2020 Head extreme tour, however I am not a fan of the stiffness. While I was still able to generate easy topspin, it wasn't as much as the 2020 version which I can get more whip on. The 2024 version played more head-heavy than the 2020 version, which took a while to get used to. With regard to control, the 2024 version was noticeably better than the 2020. I had an easy time switching directions and placing the ball.
  • Serves
    • It took a while to adjust to the serve with this racket, however after serving a basket I quite liked it. I was able to get very easy power and could place the ball well. I did have a harder time accelerating the racket compared to the 2020 version, which gave me a hard time at first with the kick serve, but after some adjusting it proved not to be an issue.
  • Volleys
    • I struggled a little with volleys using this racket. I never felt like I got great feel with it with everything feeling muted. Driving volleys deep wasn't an issue, but trying to hit drop volleys was tough.
  • Serve returns
    • With return of serve, I was able to comfortably return deep and controlled. I did have an issue with sailing balls long more than usual, especially when the serves came with more pace. I also had a harder time with chip returns and moving the racket with my wrist when I was at full extension for a ball.
Comments on racquet performance in each area
  • Power/Control
    • I felt I had good and easy power and control with this racket. I was able to hit balls consistently deep and was able to place it will. I'm not sure I was able to get as much racket head acceleration with this racket compared to the 2020 version, which did affect the power potential.
  • Top Spin/Slice
    • I was able to get consistent and easy topspin with this racket, although I think not as much as with the 2020 version because of the stiffness and it feeling slightly more top-heavy. With regard to the slice, I liked this racket a lot. I was able to get a lot of spin and had a lot of control.
  • Comfort
    • This racket felt really good in my hand. It was comfortable, but I think a bit more muted feel than I like
  • Feel
    • This racquet felt more muted compared to other rackets I've used. This was fine for groundstrokes, but I think it did affect my volleys negatively. I never quite got a feel for touch volleys with this racket.
  • Maneuverability
    • I found this version less maneuverable than the 2020 version. The 2020 version whips through the air easier. Perhaps the stiffness and the balance made this racket more difficult to move, especially when I need to use my wrist.
  • Stability
    • This was a very stable racket. Groundstrokes in particular felt very stable and controlled.
General reaction/comments on overall performance:

Overall, I really enjoyed this racket. Off the ground I felt this racket excelled. I was able to hit deep consistently with little effort and was getting heavy topspin and great control. I was also impressed serving with this racket, albeit it took a bit of time to adjust to it. I was underwhelmed when it came to the feel of this racket, as it had more of a muted feel than I like. I think it was also a bit stiffer than my current racquet, and although overall I prefer the 2020 Extreme, I still liked this racket a lot.
 
HEAD EXTREME MP 2024 PLAYTEST REVIEW:

String and tension used for test:
A few different ones: All strung at 48/50
Head Lynx Tour
Solinco Hyper G 20g
Tourna Black 7
WC Ultra Cable
Eventually settling on WCUC/Head Lynx Tour
*It's nice to had easy access to string and stringer*

Tennis experience/background:
Played HS tennis for 4 years, which is where I learned the game. Dabbled in college but no real competitive play. Eventually married into a pretty big tennis family after college and really got back into the game and really started to develop my skills again and improve. Became one of the local stringers and started coaching younger players. In total I've been playing for about 25 years. I usually play 3 times a week, mostly singles with doubles one day and some drill sessions here and there. I also help coach the local highschool/middle school tennis teams. I try a lot of frames, I love the experimental aspect of trying different frames and string setups.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I would say my game is 4.0. My play style is baseline with a reliance on a big serve. I have a two handed backhand and a semi western FH grip. I enjoy playing mostly singles. My net game is my weakest aspect of my game, which is why I usually try to stay at the baseline.

Current racquet/string setups: Wilson blade 98 V8 16x19, WC Ultra Cable 17g @ 48/50

How many hours did you play with the racquet? 30+ hours, 3 weeks, 3x per week for about 4 hours (mixture of singles, doubles, and drills)

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke

-Groundstrokes: Ground strokes with this frame felt extremely nice. I was able to keep my ground strokes from the baseline nice and deep without much effort. The launch angle varied slightly with the various string setups, but was lower than anticipated. This turned out to be a benefit of the frame as I was able to get the spin I needed to keep short balls in when hitting angles. When I wanted to flatten out my shots, I felt it very naturally allowed me to do so without having to change much in terms of my stroke. I will say that I felt that the sweet spot of the MP was a bit lower than other spin frames on the market. Balls felt significantly better when hit in the middle of the frame vs towards the top.
Defensive shots also benefited greatly from this frame. The power level and feel made defensive lobs almost seem second nature. I was able to consistently get balls high into the air and land within a foot of the baseline.
Slices on both wings, while I did not seem to pop through the court, felt easy to accomplish and would consistently land deep behind the service line.
Even with this being marketed as a power/spin racket, I never had to think twice about changing up my shots between topspin, flat, or slice. All shots felt great. The racket delivered on all three types.

-Serves: Serves came really naturally with this frame. Really liked hitting flat serves with this frame as they had more pop than with my Blades or Vcore 98s. Kick serves had nice bounce from the amount of spin I was able to get with all string setups. The frame really swung through the air nicely and offered a comfortable serving experience with ample power when desired. However, for some reason, my slice serves did not seem to take advantage of this as much, as I prefer my Blade 98 for slice serves.

-Volleys: This being the weakest part of my game, I did enjoy volleying with this frame. Contact felt solid with enough pop to volley deep in the court. The feel offered from this frame made touch shots relatively easy. While the feel on touch volleys felt a bit muted, it was not a hindrance. At the 4.0 level I never really felt pushed around or felt that lead tape would improve the frame. Even against some 4.5 players, when hit correctly volleys felt great and never felt pushed around at the net.

-Serve returns: This is where I really felt the racket shine. This frame was about to redirect power nicely, which translates into stellar returns for me. Backhand returns felt super solid and would penetrate deep into the court which usually resulted in a weaker answer from my opponents. Forehand returns could be driven flat down the line or be spun with heavy spin directed at my opponents’ feet.

Comments on racquet performance

Power/Control- Power of this frame seemed maybe slightly lower than other power frames such as the Pure Drive, but more than my Blade 98. The racket's power made for keeping the ball nice and deep a breeze, whether swinging at 40 or 90%. You would think that the increased power level would hurt the frames control, but I did not find that to be the case. While I will give more control to my Blade 98, the Extreme MP held its own. I would say, I only felt the Blade 98 had marginally more control over the extreme, but the power difference was more significant between the two frames.

Top Spin/Slice- Top spin with this frame was great. Less than maybe the Aero, which I was fine with because it made flattening out shots more natural without much adjustment. The frame provided a level of spin that kept my shots nice and deep without sailing long. I felt this frame performed better with spin punching through the court vs working on trying to create sharp angle shots.
Slice in both FH and BH felt great and made for nice shots when I needed a change of pace. While I did not feel my slice shots had the shape I get from other frame or bite into the court, they still consistently were easy to place and remain deep. I worried about the width of the hoop being a hindrance, but felt it preferred just as effortless as my blades or other thinner frames I have hit with.

Comfort- Comfort was superb. I have not used an Extreme since the Youtek versions, which were super stiff and very raw feeling. This frame is a completely different frame than those. Significantly more comfortable. I would say slightly more comfortable than my blade, noticeably more comfortable than my VCore 98. I never had a single issue with any arm discomfort the entire time using this frame, even with various full poly setups.

Feel- Feel if this frame was great. Muted response in a way that you can appreciate the comfort but still feel the response from the racket. When you hit the ball perfectly it kinda whispers “nice shot” but also when you miss hit, it still whispers “that's okay”. Even frame shots didn't send harsh feedback down my arm. While the overall feel is better with the Blade 98, it's a trade off with the comfort factor when your shots are not perfect.

Maneuverability- Although I had no official way to test it, I felt my frame’s Swingweight was a touch under spec just based on the swing. But with that being said, super maneuverable from all areas of the court. I never once felt that the frame slowed me down or was cumbersome to weld.

Stability- The frame felt solid for a frame around the 11oz strung weight. I usually feel these need a few grams of lead at 9 and 3, but not with this frame. The racquet played super solid in stock form without need for modifications.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
Overall, I am super impressed with this frame and enjoyed it a great deal more than I initially thought. I was glad to see the big upgrade in virtually every aspect compared to the old Youtek versions. I kinda dig the paint job, as I do love bright colors. Reminds me a lot of the older Jimmy Connors racket or the Volkl 10 Super G Mid as far as the looks go.
I was lucky enough to have access to a wide variety of strings and a stringer (me). Out of the strings I tried, I think the best option, which I have in there now, is WC Ultra cable mains at 48/ Head Lynx Tour crosses at 50. Something about the shaped poly in the mains moving along the smooth crosses really makes this frame sing. Thanks again TW for the opportunity and hope to do it again in the future.
 
Part 1
Head Auxetic 2.0 Extreme MP Review:

String and tension used for test: Head Lynx Tour .17ga @ 53lbs

Tennis experience/background: Played tennis for about 30+ yrs (as a junior, HS, Jr College, Club) Low 4.5 56yo.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Basic all court game (one-handed backhand), more serve and volley. I try to end points fairly quickly by a good return and/ or serve, then put away at the net. Play mostly clay (Rubico/ HarTru). I use a grip between an Eastern forehand grip and semi-Western, with more of a semi-Western on the backhand (more similar to Ivan Lendl). I’ve started playing from the backcourt more since I play on clay more. I play doubles more than singles. Doubles is all serve and volley.

Current racquet/string setups: Wilson Blade Team V8 (99” 9.9oz unstrung, 16x18), with lead around headguard, 11.1 oz strung, approx 328-330 SW, Strung with Diadem Solstice Power 16L 53lbs.

How many hours did you play with the racquet? Approx. 18-20 (had lots of rain over the last several weeks).

(Scores for each section are 0 - 100)
Groundstrokes: Score - 83
It took awhile for me to adjust to the racquet on groundstrokes. The more i used it, the more i appreciated the SW and stability. I was pretty “off” on groundstrokes at first until I decided what the best swingpath (very low to high, through the ball, etc) worked best. A good “low to high” but not complete “windshield wiper’ worked best for me. I also tried to not hit late, which I did quite a bit for about the first 40 mins or so. The racquet is not heavy, but it's not whippy either. Groundstrokes were the most rewarding, and the semi-tighter stringbed allowed me to swing slower and still control the ball. I became pretty consistent and was able to overpower my opponents at times. Baseline half volleys and running backhands were the toughest shots with this one. Really anything where I had to “flick it” quick was difficult. Backhands were the easiest stroke to hit and I had no trouble hitting a good arcing drive that consistently landed behind the service line but with ample spin. In general the racquet was controlled with a good amount of spin and net clearance - on the backhand. Forehands took a little more adjustment. Low forehands were no problem. Medium to high forehands were slightly harder to control - mainly depth control. I hit more high forehands in the net than any other stroke. I changed my grip to a western (for high forehands) and swung a little earlier and was rewarded with some forehands that I haven’t hit as hard in awhile. I had to focus on what I was doing though, and didn’t quite get grooved on it. Some of the “netted’ forehands were a result of spin, and not allowing enough net clearance for the ball to clear the net before the spin caused it to dive, or just misjudging a flat shot. Hitting Inside out forehands was really fun, since the racquet produced a heavy ball with spin and I had a big target to unload on. “Inside in” forehands were tougher since this racquet is bigger and a little sluggish through the air. But I could use spin to sort of curve it in. I didn’t expect to get good spin since the string pattern is tighter, but I didn’t hit very many balls long. Backhand slices were also easy and penetrating. I had very few fly on me. Its not as good as a Speed Pro, but very good. I felt guilty for hitting as many slices as I did. The tighter string pattern was a life saver on short slice approaches - easy to control and plenty of spin to stay low and cause the opponent problems. The SW helps with high backhand slices. This shot really worked well and I was able to hit a good deep slice off high topspin shots to my backhand. I had not trouble hitting flat either, especially on short shots that were low and I had to reach out and guide them over the net. I was also able to get a good feel for hitting flat high forehands.

Serves: Score - 76
Best serves with this racquet is flat and semi-slice serves. I wasn’t able to hit a fully flat serve since they all had a little slice. I had to make sure to hit the ball at the apex, otherwise it hit the net evey time (common sense, but more net serves than I've hit in my life). I was able to serve kick serves but they all landed short and sat up. I had to try and toss the ball more forward to get more court penetration on kick serves. It took awhile. If i was serving against the wind, I would try and serve more of a flat/slice serve, since kick was just not available. I had the best success on relaxing my arm and wrist and not putting a lot of effort in my arm (letting the racquet do most of the work). Serves weren't bad, just different than my normal setup. All of my slice/ flat serves down the T were unreturnable. All my kick serves were sat up for my opponent.

Volleys: Scores - 82
Volleys were very good. I had to concentrate to keep the racquet out in front since it felt a little sluggish. I almost felt like I couldn’t miss on my volleys. As expected, high floating volleys were the most challenging to control, but if I focused on hitting a hair earlier, I had no trouble. The best volleys with this racquet were lower volleys around mid waist. I was able to drive these with slice and set up a winning shot. Hardest volleys were high forehands. The racquet seemed to tip over on impact a little and I had to focus on moving away from the ball and getting the racquet as sideways as I could. The more I played with it, I rarely missed a volley.

Serve returns:
Scores - 84
Returns were very good. The sluggishness of the racquet never really made a difference on returns. I was able to block back hard serves back with little effort. I was a little late on running around and hitting a high forehand return, but I hit some returns harder than I have hit in awhile. With the string pattern as good as it is (tighter) I could also slow down and control my returns. I was able to hit tighter angles with my backhand than my forehand, but i could get ample spin on both. My favorite return was hitting a high flat forehand from the ad side right up the middle.

Power/Control: Score - 85
For me, this racquet is probably the best combination of power and control in today’s market. Head has almost perfect string patterns. There is more power than a Babolat Pure Aero, but less than a Pure Drive. Yet it has more control than a Pure Drive or FX500. It’s not as powerful as my current racquet, but it’s slightly more forgiving. The stringbed is not launchy and I was able to be very consistent with it, especially in baseline rallies. I could play this racquet without mods. I had slightly less control from mid court to the net. Touch shots were also easy to hit. Power outside the sweetspot dropped off as expected but not as much as a Speed MP, Ezone/ Vcore 100, or Radical MP.
 
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Part 2

Top Spin/Slice: Score - 84
Better topspin than regular grommets. Topspin comes from racquet head speed and brushing up on the ball, but string movement helps, and this is aided by the grommets. At first, I noticed that I hit very few balls long, but I hit more than usual in the net. After several sessions, I found a nice groove and was missing the net on every shot. Slice was also aided by the grommets (in my opinion). I was routinely able to slice volleys, returns, groundstrokes both floating deep and driving slices with control. The high backhand slice is one of my favorite shots with this racquet.

Comfort: Score - 72
Comfort was moderate. At net, and on touch shots the racquet felt like a pillow. As soon as the pace picked up, the comfort level got less and less. It wasn’t a rattle machine like a Radical, and it wasn’t super harsh at the top like a Yonex 100 or Speed MP, but it wasn’t a pleasant feel either. There were some vibrations, but it felt similar to Countervail - sort of numb. I didn’t mind it and it didn’t affect play.

Feel: Score - 68
Feel was lacking. It's not a pleasant hitting racquet, but it hits well and you forget about the bad feel the more you play with it. When the pace is slow, it feels comfortable, but as soon as any pace is applied, the racquet feels resistant to hitting. As soon as the ball makes contact, it feels like a power nerf. The graphene process and Auxetic material combine to give a ceramic/ fiberglass type feel, that is unpleasant and off putting at first but is forgettable when you play with it more and more.

Maneuverability: Score - 74
Overall, it’s sluggish. Head has uniquely produced a racquet that is light and heavy feeling without a lot of SW. I’m not sure how they did it, but it feels light and sluggish at the same time. It’s not a very maneuverable racquet. I was routinely late on most of my volleys, quick exchanges at net, and was not able to flick any quick shots like baseline half volleys or ankle shots. But I like hitting with it nonetheless.

Stability: Score - 80
Stability was better than all of the racquets in its class. It's a light racquet in general, but I felt confident in blocking back hard volleys, serves, and heavy topspin shots. I feel I can play this racquet against any hard hitter in my area without problems. There was some racquet turning on shots near the frame but it was negligible.

Scores Summary:
Groundstrokes - 83
Serve - 76
Volleys - 82
Serve Returns - 84
Power/ Control - 85
Topspin/ Slice - 84
Comfort - 72
Feel - 68
Maneuverability - 74
Stability - 80

Overal Score: 78

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
No racquet is perfect and this one isn’t either. But it has some very good qualities that I feel outweigh its negatives. The feel is not the best, and this racquet is not for beginners or anyone looking for a comfortable racquet. But it is for a more advanced player looking for a powerful control racquet that will stand up to heavy pace and spin. Every part of this racquet takes focus and is not a racquet that anyone can just pick up and play with. But, as you adjust to it, and you begin overpowering your opponents and outlasting them with consistency, it makes you rethink and forget all the negative aspects. This is also a racquet that can benefit from mods, or play very well just like it is. Bottom line is - it's good enough to switch to from my current setup.

Thank you TW and Head.
 
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Extreme Pro Racquet Review (PART 1/2)

String and tension used for test:
I used my go-to poly/poly hybrid of the moment. Tru Pro Pure Rush 1.23 in the mains and Toroline Wasabi X 1.23 in the crosses. I strung up the racquet at a tension of 54/52 on a Klippermate drop weight.

Tennis experience/background:
I am a 4.0 level player. I started playing at age 7 during the summers and mostly everyday starting in high school. Played USTA tournaments and got to "champ" level where I stagnated in the middle of the state rankings. Stopped playing almost altogether through college and grad school. Picked it back up again in 2019 just hitting with a ball machine. Joined my local tennis league to start playing matches again in 2020. I have dabbled in a couple weekend USTA tournaments, but mostly play in my local league for matches twice a week and practice with a ball machine on weekends. Since re-starting my tennis journey in 2019, I have tested dozens of racquets and my collection continues to grow. Although, I am always striving to get better, I am attuned to my level and don't test many racquets that would be considered "out of my league". In my youth, I would gravitate towards control oriented player sticks (Prince Diablo, Volkl V-engine V10), but I now recognize I need a bit more power and forgiveness for my game.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):
I consider my style a combination between aggressive baseliner and counter puncher. I adjust my playstyle to my opponent. I consider myself speedy on the court for my age and will try to track down most balls. My volley game is below average for my level and will try and stay at the baseline. My strongest shots are my forehand and serve (when it's consistent).

Current racquet/string setups:
My current setup is a Wilson Blade 100 v9 modified to my usual specs of 342g/31.9cm balance/331 swingweight. I test many strings and particularly poly/poly hybrids with slick round crosses. However, I have used the aforementioned hybrid for a bit now and it has become my standard.

How many hours did you play with the racquet?
12 hours

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):

-Groundstrokes: The overarching theme of my review will be stability. I often find myself adding weight to racquets to gain stability and twistweight. So I was very pleasantly surprised at how the extreme pro in stock form maintained its stability even when facing harder hitters. Forehands and backhands did not shake in my hand even in off-center hits. This is great considering this is a spin racquet which, in my experience, has a tendency to be more unstable. Both forehands and backhands also provided great depth and shape on the ball. I struggle at times to get depth on my backhand and can leave balls short for my opponents. The backhand depth here was great and although I had to focus more on making sure I was hitting up on the backhand side, I was able to get great deep angles that would keep my opponents on the move. Forehands provided a similar experience with great depth and shape, however it was lacking in the more precise put-away power I was used to on this side. I found myself having to aim for bigger targets on the forehand side, particularly when going down the line, and what I thought should be winners were returned by my opponents (albeit on the stretch). I feel like I could control most points by maneuvering the ball side to side, but felt that points were 1 or 2 strokes more than I was used to.

-Serves:
This is the area where I struggled the most. I found it hard to time my serve (a big part of my game) well enough to get the same power I am used to. Now, this could probably be easily remedied by some weight in the hoop to increase the swingweight. As is though, I definitely was not winning as many free points as I was used to. I also found I lost some zip on my second serve kick and slice, but I will say it had great spin. Since my timing wasn't completely honed in, I had trouble with placement at times. Not so much that I was double faulting (more than usual), but that I found most of my serves to be hitting the middle of the service box. I think with time and a little lead, these struggles would go away for me.

-Volleys:
This is an area where, alongside maneuverability, stability is most important. This racquet shines in both those areas. It was very accurate on volleys on both the forehand and backhand side. I could move the racquet easily through the air and make solid contact out in front. Low volleys were a treat to hit and I found that I could get my racquet to just the right place to hit some nice touch volleys that would die softly on the other side of the net and stay low.

-Serve returns:
A bit of a mediocre experience with returns for me. A big marker for me in testing racquets is the backhand return. I often find that if I don't get just the right contact, returns on this side will fall short and end up as easy serve plus 1 put-aways for my opponents. For this extreme pro, the stability was definitely there on the forehand side allowing me to get deep returns even when blocked, but it was a bit of mixed bag on the backhand side. On slower serves, where I could take a bigger swing, I could angle a nice crosscourt return deep into the opposite corner consistently. On fast flat serves to the backhand side, I could get some depth to about 3/4 deep, but found that balls would sit up for the server rather than go through the court.

[end of part 1]
 
Extreme Pro Racquet Review (PART 2/2)

Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum)

Power/Control-
I found that this racquet had a good combination of both. Nothing otherworldly in the power or control category. Easy and consistent depth provided by the medium/high launch angle, but as mentioned before the put-away power was a little lacking. Control was provided by easy access to spin, but it wasn't a point and shoot experience. I would have to aim for big targets to carve the ball around the court. Flattening out balls was a bit precarious. I would find that if my timing was not dead-on, flat strokes had a tendency to fly on me. I had to adjust my groundstrokes a bit to make sure that I was getting some topspin on it, in order to maintain control.

Top Spin/Slice-
This is the bread and butter of this frame. Pushing players back with topspin was really fun with this racquet. While I didn't find it to be a point-ending kind of racquet, it is definitely one you can use to control and build points. A pretty open string pattern helps in this regard without being so open that it feels like you are hitting 10 feet above the net on each shot. Slices were also a decent surprise for me. I usually avoid using the slice as an offensive shot and limit it to defense, but approach slices and change of pace slices stayed pretty low and didn't float as much as anticipated. The maneuverability helps here as it is easy to move the racquet around through the air.

Comfort-
Another great aspect of this frame. I don't gravitate towards stiffer frames for fear of discomfort and anything that may resemble tennis elbow. With this racquet, I felt like I was swinging a 60RA frame and felt nothing negative in my arm. It felt so comfortable, that as I modify this racquet and test with other strings, I could venture out into testing slightly stiffer string offerings without fear that I would feel pain/discomfort.

Feel-
I have tested almost all the Auxetic 2.0 frames in Head's lineup and whatever the technology is, I love it. For comparison's sake it is less muted than VDM in Yonex frames providing more feel. Where some VDM frames feel numb and devoid of stringbed feedback, the extreme pro gives back just enough to know what is going on when the ball hits the frame. It is not harsh and ping-y like Pure Aeros whose feeling I absolutely cannot gel with.

Maneuverability-
This performs as expected for a spin frame. It is easy to move around the air on regular groundstrokes and even ones that require some whippyness on the run. No problems at the net where some frames can feel clunky. Where I had trouble dialing in the movement of the frame was on serves, where I think I more head-light balance would benefit to really amp up the speed though the air.

Stability-
I've said it before, but this is an outstanding aspect of this frame. Especially considering it is a spin frame. I usually do not hesitate to customize a new racquet to increase stability, but I was impressed by how this frame performed in stock form. It has a decent sized sweet-spot that maintains its solid-feel on impact. The only area where I had a bit of concern regarding the stability was on backhand returns of fast flat serves, where I could feel the frame twist if I didn't hit it near the center of the bed.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:
This was a real fun playtest for me and one that kept surprising me more and more. I am not a "swing it stock" kind of guy but save maybe a leather grip and a couple grams to increase the swingweight, this one is really near great stock. I will definitely modify and test out some different strings to up the power ceiling a bit. This frame has some real potential. I never tested the previous extreme tour (pro now), so I was really surprised at how stable and comfortable this frame was. For the beginning of this year, I was playing with a heavily modified Vcore 98 2023. This frame is very similar, but offers better stability, more feel, slightly more comfort, but less power. While I am currently addicted to the controllable power I can easily get from the Blade 100v9, this Extreme Pro has once again made me curious. I will modify and amend my review at a later date as I see how different setups impact the playability of this frame. Needless to say, I am excited about continuing this test.

Thank you to @TW Staff and Head for the opportunity to participate in a truly fun playtest. I am excited to see what Head comes up with next!
 
Final word on this playtest from me, third string job is Hyper-G 17 @ 45 mains/Hyper-G Round 17 @45 crosses. This is my favorite of the three strings I tried, Lynx Tour 1.25 and Lynx 1.20 also at 45 the others. All of them are comfortable, I think you would have to go above 55 to get into trouble here, I ended up liking Lynx the least. I also did not find the black Lynx Tour to be stiffer and deader than the champagne version, as I have in the past. I think if you are going to put a 1.20 or thinner poly in this frame, it had better be a shaped one or a hybrid with a shaped in the mains, because I think this pattern/grommet combination is not the best for thin round polys. Spin, power and control were all enhanced with the Hyper combo, but YMMV as Hyper-G hybrid and Hyper-G are personal favorites, although I don't love a full bed of Hyper-G round. Down the road, I plan to experiment with Triax 1.33 @ 50.
 
String and tension used for test:

used supplied strings - multi in mains - crosses poly 57/53

Tennis experience/background:

I started in the mid 80s. Rural WV, no instruction, no exposure, nothing. I have been to camps run by Bollettieri, Van der Meer and Harry Hopman. I have read books on tennis, videos, been to Roland Garros and US Open and Cincinnati several times. I still play a lot of local tournaments and can handle most of the players at my age/level. I turned 68 in June.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):

At my best, I was a certified 5.0 doubles player and 4.5 singles player. Now, I consider myself a high 3.5/low 4.0. (Age is creeping up on me, but I am fighting it with everything I have). Haven't played singles in years, but can still play a pretty good lefty slicing and OHBH game. Coming in at every opportunity. Forehand is my big weapon. I am still working on my forehand volley, but my backhand volley is pretty slick.


Current racquet/string setups:

vcore 100, 7th gen. Gut mains at 62 lbs/smooth poly crosses at 55 lbs.


How many hours did you play with the racquet?

Over 20, maybe more


-Groundstrokes:

The tighter pattern gave me tons of control, even though there was plenty of spin there for the taking. I actually felt I could pick smaller targets for passing shot opportunities in drills and was successful. The little bit of extra head heavy weight distribution compared to Yonex and Babolat helped with keeping the groundies deep and not being pushed around by the heavy balls hit at me by these young whippersnappers.

-Serves:

My serves felt a little less powerful than with my usual vcore, or a pure drive. A little of this might be the multi strings vs. the somewhat livelier gut I usually play with. However, I have played with multi in my vcore before and had no such issues, so I will lay that at the feet of the racket itself. I had to actually adjust my 2nd serve significantly. I was hitting a LOT of spin slice second serves (usually my forte) that would hit the net cord and not go over.

-Volleys:

Again, my control on volleys was distinctly improved by this racket. Much more touch and directional intent than the others. Little or no problem with ever overcooking a volley. (And that is a bit of a problem for me on forehands) digging out ½ volleys or balls low to my feet was better than with the Yonex or Babolat, but only slightly.

-Serve returns:

The accuracy and slightly less power of this racket vs. my usual significantly aided my return game. I felt I could swing out on my forehand and the ball would still stay in due to the increased spin. Chip backhand returns were about equal. Trying to come over the top of the ball with a backhand return was more difficult.


Power/Control-

This racket is just as powerful as the Aero, but not quite as powerful as the Pure Drive or Vcore. My estimate is about 10% less powerful, but control is better than all 3 of the others. I played Tuesday with a group of about ½ 3.0 and ½ 3.5 level players. I hit about 3 forehand cross court passing shots from the ad side. Even players on the adjacent court saw the shot and were shocked.

Top Spin/Slice-

If their intent was to out Aero the Aero, they have succeeded. The amount of spin I was able to generate, both on clay and hard courts was just sick. Related to the above comment, I was not able to hit through my opponents with power, but I had a significantly enhanced ability to steer the ball away from their preferred hitting points and to significantly disrupt their patterns alternating topspin, flat, slice on groundstrokes....

Comfort- this racket was plusher than both the Pure Drive and Vcore, both of which are pretty stiff. No arm pain whatsoever. It is just as comfortable as the Aero, but I felt more connected to the ball on impact than I have in the past with Aeros.

Feel-

I am not real sure about this category. It does not have the harsh, almost tinny feel of my Vcore or my Pure Drive. I was not an Aero fan, mostly due to the fact that I felt no connection to the ball at impact with it. The Head did give me a good solid “connected to the ball” feel at impact.

Maneuverability-

It was slightly more head heavy than either a Pure Drive or my vcore, but not so much that I would need to adjust my swing on a groundstroke or volley. In digging out those net dribblers, and in quick exchanges at the net, The Vcore was superior, but the Head was adequate.

Stability-

I did not, not ever, have an issue when the racket twisted in my hand. Even on a off center hit, even in the most humid late July heat of Florida in this super hot summer. I never felt like the ball was overpowering me if I could get the racket to it, even on a Hydrogen Proton ball machine session with power set to level 8.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:

Will I defect from the Vcore family for this racket? Probably not. The extra spin is super handy, as is the extra control, but I need the extra power against the tougher players that I get from the Vcore. On clay, where spin is king, the issue is much closer. If I were an Ezone player (and I have toyed with them from time to time), I feel I would abandon Yonex for this racket immediately.

My take is that lower level Pure Drive players can and probably should switch to this racket. The extra spin and slightly less power would help them tremendously.

As to a comparison with the Aero. Even higher level Aero players should switch to this stick. The spin is even greater, the touch is significantly better, there is no loss of power from the Aero. And the electric yellow color scheme is light years ahead of even the Easter Egg Aero paint job. (Same for the current paint jobs for all the vcores all the way back to the candy apple red and white gloss paint jobs of about 10 years ago.)

Overall, I think Head has given the tennis community a significantly different and improved racket here that is going to especially push Babolat and Yonex to improve their lines. That’s a good thing for us players!

As always, TW, you guys are the greatest, I look forward to my next trip to GA or CA and an opportunity to meet you all in person again!
 
stapletonj said:
String and tension used for test:

used supplied strings - multi in mains - crosses poly 57/53

Tennis experience/background:

I started in the mid 80s. Rural WV, no instruction, no exposure, nothing. I have been to camps run by Bollettieri, Van der Meer and Harry Hopman. I have read books on tennis, videos, been to Roland Garros and US Open and Cincinnati several times. I still play a lot of local tournaments and can handle most of the players at my age/level. I turned 68 in June.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):

At my best, I was a certified 5.0 doubles player and 4.5 singles player. Now, I consider myself a high 3.5/low 4.0. (Age is creeping up on me, but I am fighting it with everything I have). Haven't played singles in years, but can still play a pretty good lefty slicing and OHBH game. Coming in at every opportunity. Forehand is my big weapon. I am still working on my forehand volley, but my backhand volley is pretty slick.


Current racquet/string setups:

vcore 100, 7th gen. Gut mains at 62 lbs/smooth poly crosses at 55 lbs.


How many hours did you play with the racquet?

Over 20, maybe more


-Groundstrokes:

The tighter pattern gave me tons of control, even though there was plenty of spin there for the taking. I actually felt I could pick smaller targets for passing shot opportunities in drills and was successful. The little bit of extra head heavy weight distribution compared to Yonex and Babolat helped with keeping the groundies deep and not being pushed around by the heavy balls hit at me by these young whippersnappers.

-Serves:

My serves felt a little less powerful than with my usual vcore, or a pure drive. A little of this might be the multi strings vs. the somewhat livelier gut I usually play with. However, I have played with multi in my vcore before and had no such issues, so I will lay that at the feet of the racket itself. I had to actually adjust my 2nd serve significantly. I was hitting a LOT of spin slice second serves (usually my forte) that would hit the net cord and not go over.

-Volleys:

Again, my control on volleys was distinctly improved by this racket. Much more touch and directional intent than the others. Little or no problem with ever overcooking a volley. (And that is a bit of a problem for me on forehands) digging out ½ volleys or balls low to my feet was better than with the Yonex or Babolat, but only slightly.

-Serve returns:

The accuracy and slightly less power of this racket vs. my usual significantly aided my return game. I felt I could swing out on my forehand and the ball would still stay in due to the increased spin. Chip backhand returns were about equal. Trying to come over the top of the ball with a backhand return was more difficult.


Power/Control-

This racket is just as powerful as the Aero, but not quite as powerful as the Pure Drive or Vcore. My estimate is about 10% less powerful, but control is better than all 3 of the others. I played Tuesday with a group of about ½ 3.0 and ½ 3.5 level players. I hit about 3 forehand cross court passing shots from the ad side. Even players on the adjacent court saw the shot and were shocked.

Top Spin/Slice-

If their intent was to out Aero the Aero, they have succeeded. The amount of spin I was able to generate, both on clay and hard courts was just sick. Related to the above comment, I was not able to hit through my opponents with power, but I had a significantly enhanced ability to steer the ball away from their preferred hitting points and to significantly disrupt their patterns alternating topspin, flat, slice on groundstrokes....

Comfort- this racket was plusher than both the Pure Drive and Vcore, both of which are pretty stiff. No arm pain whatsoever. It is just as comfortable as the Aero, but I felt more connected to the ball on impact than I have in the past with Aeros.

Feel-

I am not real sure about this category. It does not have the harsh, almost tinny feel of my Vcore or my Pure Drive. I was not an Aero fan, mostly due to the fact that I felt no connection to the ball at impact with it. The Head did give me a good solid “connected to the ball” feel at impact.

Maneuverability-

It was slightly more head heavy than either a Pure Drive or my vcore, but not so much that I would need to adjust my swing on a groundstroke or volley. In digging out those net dribblers, and in quick exchanges at the net, The Vcore was superior, but the Head was adequate.

Stability-

I did not, not ever, have an issue when the racket twisted in my hand. Even on a off center hit, even in the most humid late July heat of Florida in this super hot summer. I never felt like the ball was overpowering me if I could get the racket to it, even on a Hydrogen Proton ball machine session with power set to level 8.

General reaction/comments on overall performance:

Will I defect from the Vcore family for this racket? Probably not. The extra spin is super handy, as is the extra control, but I need the extra power against the tougher players that I get from the Vcore. On clay, where spin is king, the issue is much closer. If I were an Ezone player (and I have toyed with them from time to time), I feel I would abandon Yonex for this racket immediately.

My take is that lower level Pure Drive players can and probably should switch to this racket. The extra spin and slightly less power would help them tremendously.

As to a comparison with the Aero. Even higher level Aero players should switch to this stick. The spin is even greater, the touch is significantly better, there is no loss of power from the Aero. And the electric yellow color scheme is light years ahead of even the Easter Egg Aero paint job. (Same for the current paint jobs for all the vcores all the way back to the candy apple red and white gloss paint jobs of about 10 years ago.)

Overall, I think Head has given the tennis community a significantly different and improved racket here that is going to especially push Babolat and Yonex to improve their lines. That’s a good thing for us players!

As always, TW, you guys are the greatest, I look forward to my next trip to GA or CA and an opportunity to meet you all in person again!
Click to expand...
Couldn't tell from your review, was this a review for the MP or the pro?
 
HEAD EXTREME PRO 2024 REVIEW:

String and tension used for test:
1st String job: Head Lynx Tour mains 48lbs and MLT crosses 50lbs
2nd String job: Head Lynx Tour 17 at 46lbs, full bed

Tennis background/skill level/playing style:
4.0+ male in my late late 40’s; FH my main weapon and OHBH. Began playing tennis at 13 years of age and played competitively throughout HS and into my first two years of college playing mainly singles, counter punching my way through matches. Those were probably my best tennis years. Took a long break to focus on school and early career, but played tennis recreationally every now and then. Took up tennis on the regular again in my early 30’s and played USTA leagues and tournaments (won a couple of singles events), and then took another break to focus on raising my neurodiverse child. Restarted tennis again in my 40’s and through local clinics I got to know a couple of people and became a practice and drill partner for my local community college’s tennis program. This is how I keep myself young playing against ITA ranked college kids.

Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):
Over the last four years I have transitioned to playing more of an attacking style game hoping to end points earlier at net, especially against younger opponents who would outlast me if we get into long rallies.

Current racquet/string setups:
Wilson Ultra Pro V4; Tecnifibre Razor Soft, 48 to 50 lbs.

How many hours did you play with the racquet?
Play tested the Head Extreme Pro about 14 hours

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke (each section should be 3-5 sentences minimum):
-Groundstrokes: Racket had a good feeling of weight moving forward. On flat groundstrokes the launch angle is low. A full set of Lynx Tour helped and gave the ball more lift, but still the launch on flats was lower than what I prefer. A fast upward swing path is needed to take advantage of the racket’s control and spin potential. I may try tail weight the racket to make it more head light and see if that would help me whip the racket around better.

-Serves: For me this is where I had the most fun. I served some flat bombs with this racket and had good spin with power on slice serves. The extra pop on serves helped me win two matches.

-Volleys: Another area where the racket shines - volleys. The racket was stable and maneuverable enough at net, and I was able to get good pop and depth on volleys. Was able to dig out half volleys with control.

-Serve returns: I had no problems returning hard serves by blocking the ball back as the racket was stable enough in stock form. For more aggressive cuts on returning weaker second servers, and since a lower flat launch angle, I had to focus on topspin. Racket felt a little sluggish when reacting and swinging on returns and I may want to experiment with tail weighting to alter the balance to help. I found that slicing the return, both forehand and backhand, resulted in some fun and effective results.


Comments on racquet performance in each area (should be 2-3 sentences minimum):
Power/Control- Head Extreme Pro with full bed of Head Lynx Tour had lots of pop and good control. Plenty of power and control on serves and volleys. You can absolutely crush the balls on overheads. This is a great stick for a one-handed backhand - stable and was getting good help from power.
Top Spin/Slice - Ball had lots of bite on topspin and slices. Very good racket for slicing. Knifing the slice produced very good low trajectory and backspin. Had lots of fun with slice passing shots. You read that correctly, slice passing shots. I can slice with the Extreme Pro all day - one of my favorite shots to hit with this racket.

Comfort- Extreme Pro feels comfortable. Hitting multiple hours and sessions with this racket did not aggravate my tennis elbow. Auxetic 2.0 seems to be working. (y)

Feel- Racket is too muted for my taste as I felt disconnected during ball strikes. I wish the racket gave more response through the frame and down into the grip. I think the Auxetic in the layup mutes the racket a little too much for me. However, some players may like the muted feel.

Maneuverability- Good enough maneuverability at net that I didn’t feel the racket caused any late volleys. If any, that would have been caused by my poor preparation. However on groundstrokes I’m thinking of adding some weight to the grip in the future to make the racket feel more head light.

Stability- Stable enough in stock form that I’m able to block shots without the feel of racket twist. On late and off center shots, I was still able to get some power to get the ball over the net. Great stability on volleys and serves.


General reaction/comments on overall performance:
It took some time for me to adjust to the Head Extreme Pro due to the muted response from the racket. I prefer a racket that gives more feedback from the frame and down to the grip. However, the racket was still a joy to play with and once in a groove, the muted response didn’t bother me too much. I won two doubles matches playing with the Extreme Pro among competitive friends. :cool: I was able to get power and control on my flat and slice serves, and depth on volleys. Putting away overheads was a breeze with the Extreme Pro as there was a good feeling of speed and weight on the downswing giving major pop on the ball. During the playtest I gave the racket to two of my hitting partners. One plays mainly flat and because of the lower launch angle of the racket on flats, he netted a many or shot the balls long. It was too much of an adjustment to his swing path style to make the racket work for him consistently. My other hitting partner, a crafty spin doctor, tested the racket. He was an absolute monster hitting with the Extreme Pro as he was able to produce heavy, biting topspin shots and slices with good court depth and good back-spinning drop volleys. He’s considering switching to this racket. Not a racket to recommend to beginners, but for intermediate and advanced players, if you like a muted feeling racket and looking to control your spin game, the Head Extreme Pro is a racket to seriously consider. I recommend demoing and purchasing from Tennis Warehouse. I’ve been a TW customer since my college days in San Luis Obispo and when TW had their store downtown before moving to online operations. I have received excellent service ever since. Big thank you to Head and Tennis Warehouse for providing me the opportunity to playtest the Head Extreme Pro 2024, a quality tennis racket all-around.
 
A few weeks after I finished my review and I still keep coming back to this frame (MP). Still very happy with how it compliments most aspects of my game especially serve and service returns. The feel on touch shots could be slightly better, but not at all bad. I’ve seen a lot of comparisons to the Pure Drive. As a long term pure drive user, originally the Roddick then moving on to a modified standard, I would have to say that this frame is better in most every category vs (at least the newest PD) in every way.

On the color, I’m sure it may be in my head, but I feel that seeing the racket come through the ball and the color being so eye catching it helping with contact with the ball. Any one else felt that about this frame or other bright colored frames?
 
I alternate between the MP and the tailweighted TiS6 these days. The Hyper-G/Hyper-G Round hybrid is still playing well 10 hours in, the Extreme MP plays great stock and to me is a winner over the power and spin frames of Wilson (Ultra, Shift) Babolat (PD, PA) and Yonex (EZone, VCore). Head doesn't have a power frame since the Instinct is now a value line and the Boom to me is Clash like, and maybe it is because the Extreme can do double duty depending how you swing it.
 
I wouldn’t say the Boom is anything like a Clash. I’ve been rocking the Boom Team for a quick minute because it plays nice with my atrophied arm from tennis elbow that won’t f****** resolve. But back to the topic, demoed an Extreme Team today strung with a full bed of black Velocity and 1) black and green velocity have nothing in common 2) The Extreme Team, even at 265ish g unstrung, is a solid racquet and I’d say best of the Team bunch between Extreme, Boom, and Speed, though I can’t help but wonder if it’s head heavy to rack up some swingweight points.
 
This is a follow up to the first review for the Extreme Pro tested with Hyper-G x Ghostwire posted above (http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...-extreme-2024-pro-and-mp.771373/post-18291885). This test was done using the Lynx Tour strings supplied for the test (as a compare to testers usual string setup).

Reviewer plays club tennis at a Big 10 school and currently plays G360+ Extreme Tour strung with Hyper-G x Ghostwire.

String and tension used for test: Lynx Tour @ 51 x Lynx Tour @ 49
Tennis experience/background: 8 years - UTR 8
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): Aggressive baseliner
Current racquet/string setups: Graphene 360+ Extreme Tour with HyperG @ 51 x Ghostwire @ 49
How many hours did you play with the demo? 10 hours

Comments on racquet performance for each stroke:
  • Groundstrokes
    • Lynx Tour matched up very well with the new Extreme Pro. The biggest difference I saw using this string compared to my usual strings (Hyper-G) was the easy depth and power I was able to generate. It felt effortless. I also felt like I had enhanced control. The downside was I felt like I was generating less spin than I was with Hyper-G, which I think grips the ball better. Overall for this racquet, I preferred the Lynx Tour compared to my usual Hyper-G setup for groundstrokes on this racket.
  • Serves
    • I loved the serve using this racket and string combination. I was able to get a ton of power and excellent placement. I was still struggling with a kick serve using this racket, but with my first serve I was getting countless aces which I don't normally get with my other racket and string combination (G360+ Extreme Tour with HG/GW).
  • Volleys
    • Still not a huge fan of the volleys with this racket. I don't think the strings made much of a difference on volleys. Maybe they were slightly better compared to the Hyper-G, but really it wasn't a big difference. The racket is still more muted than I would like, and that really shows up on volleys especially touch volleys.
  • Serve returns
    • I struggled a bit with the serve return using this racket and string setup. When I made perfect contact, I was able to rip the ball off the return, but I was struggling a lot with keeping the ball in the court. On groundstrokes where I found easier depth, on serve returns it showed up as overhitting more than I was with the Hyper-G in this racquet.
Comments on racquet performance in each area:
  • Power/Control
    • The power using these strings and the racket were great. It felt really stable and I was able to generate a lot of pace and keep the ball deep with minimal effort. Control on groundstrokes was also excellent and I was very confident in my ability to place the ball and move it around. The strings felt almost too powerful on serve returns and I hit quite a few serve returns longer than I expected.
  • Top Spin/Slice
    • I liked the slice quite a lot with this racket and strings. Probably more so than with the Hyper-G in this racquet. I was able to consistently place the ball very deep in the court using my slice. When it comes to top spin, while I was still able to generate a good amount, it felt like less of a major factor of my game using this racquet. Using Hyper-G and my 2020 extreme tour, I'm able to hit the ball really heavy and drive my opponents back. With this racket/string combo I had to focus more on placing the ball and keeping it deep rather than swinging out.
  • Comfort
    • This racket felt really good in my hand and no issues with arm pain or shoulder pain. I didn't notice a huge difference in the strings regarding comfort.
  • Feel
    • I am not the biggest fan of the muted feel on this racket. I probably liked the feel better with the Lynx Tour than with the Hyper-G, but it wasn't a significant difference. The racket is a bit too muted for my taste when it comes to feel.
  • Maneuverability
    • The Lynx Tour didn't change the maneuverability of the racquet compared to Hyper-G. Overall, the 2024 version of the Extreme Pro is not as whippy as the 2020 version. I'm not sure if the stiffness or the balance or the weight made this racket more difficult to move, but especially when I needed to use my wrist I found it lagging. This showed up most on kick serves and when I was stretched out wide trying to wrist a forehand.
  • Stability
    • This is a very stable racket using both HG and Lynx Tour. Groundstrokes in particular felt very stable and controlled.
General reaction/comments on overall performance:

I liked this racket quite a lot with the Lynx Tour, probably more so than with the Hyper-G on groundstrokes. I thought the Lynx matched up better with what this racket excels at, which is power, depth, and control. I still wish the racket was a little more maneuverable and had a less muted feel, but as I kept using it I did find myself liking it more and more. Switching back to the 2020 extreme tour, I felt myself having to work a lot more to generate the same power and depth, although I do hit a noticeably heavier ball with the 2020. For sure first serves are better with the 2024 Extreme Pro with Lynx Tour, that might be my favorite part of using this racquet. First serves I had both power and placement.
 
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