Which is the best head speed racket for an intermediate player?

[eagletennis30]

Hello! Which head speed do y'all recommend for an intermediate player that can consistently hit rallies. I've seen that they are not really different but some say that the speed pro is more plush while the legend is more crisp. Thank you!

 

[jimmy8]

The legend has a high swing weight so it is harder to swing. The pro is whippy and maneuverable. Thr pro still has good weight and stability. The pro has 18x20 stringbed so it can be stiff. If you use the pro with a full bed of synthetic gut or multifilament strings, you will find it nice and plush.

If you are advanced intermediate who uses poly strings, maybe go with legend.

Otherwise, pro might be better for you.

 

[eagletennis30]

Ok, Thank you! What does MP mean for the rackets?

 

[Verdi]

Ok, Thank you! What does MP mean for the rackets?

Main performance. Basically, the best racquet for most players. High level and intermediate players are targets for the MP.

 

[langley]

used to stand for mid plus. i hate that they’re trying to rebrand it as main performance. so unbelievably dumb.

 

[Insect]

used to stand for mid plus. i hate that they’re trying to rebrand it as main performance. so unbelievably dumb.

Yeah… it makes one wonder what “secondary performance” might mean.
Words don’t mean words anymore. Marketing bs.

 

[Trip]

@eagletennis30 - "Intermediate" can vary quite widely in level and physicality, and without knowing more about you, or whomever this racquet is for, I would argue that from all the current Auxetic 2.0 Speeds, the MP-L would be the one to get for most true intermediates. The main reason: swing weight. The average swing weight on the MP is creeping up towards 330-ish+, which is often more than most true intermediates can manage, whereas the MP-L is safely down in the 300-teens, a much more appropriate amount for the "typical" intermediate.

Further, the MP-L also gives you room to customize up to whatever static weight and/or swing weight you desire, whereas with the MP, sure, potentially great if you like that level of hitting weight straight away, but if you're left wishing for just a bit less, you're either stuck trying to play lighter-weight strings, or having to look for more under-spec samples. IMHO, just easier to go with the MP-L as a "one size fits all" solution, and customize if/when necessary.

Just my two cents. Hope that helps.

 

[eagletennis30]

@Trip- Thank you so much for explaining! What does auxetic 2.0 mean or do to the racket?

 

[langley]

@Trip- Thank you so much for explaining! What does auxetic 2.0 mean or do to the racket?

Materials that expand or thicken when stretched and shrink or thin when compressed. I've found that it provides a bit of stability but also mutes the frame quite a bit. Graphene 360+ uses the same mold but has much more feedback. One isn't necessarily better than the other though.

 

[Trip]

@eagletennis30 - Very welcome. "Auxetic 2.0" is just the advertising/marketing coin-phrase for the latest generation of Head models, that all have Auxetic material in the graphite layup, now located in both 1) the upper-throat/bridge/6-o'clock hoop area (which was present in Auxetic 1.0) but now also the handle area (uniquely present in Auxetic 2.0). As @AndrewUtz referenced, the material is supposed to add stability and solidness on impact, and it actually does do that to some degree, but as a downside, it also tends to mute the feel, doing so to a higher or lower degree depending on the silo, with the Speeds probably somewhere in the middle (not the most muted, nor the least).

That said, with the Speeds in particular, that moderate muting is usually nothing that can't be overcome by using more crisp strings – for most intermediates, that would be things like synthetic guts with durability wraps (ex: Gosen OGSM), certain multifilaments (example: Tecnifibre Multifeel), natural gut and/or poly hybrids using metallic-colored poly's (but if you're a lower-level intermediate, I would probably minimize or avoid poly altogether).

 

[eagletennis30]

Ahh ok! Thanks for explaining!