About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the racquet, which I tested for one week in October of 2022.

My take

The Head Radical Pro Racquet looks very visually appealing. The swing is balanced and the racquet feels heavier than previous racquets I’ve used.

About the racquet I own

• Model: 2021
• Grip Size: 4 3/8
• String and Tension: Tennis Warehouse Poly String, 55 lbs
• Head size: 98 in2
• Racquet Length: 27in
• Any Customizations: None

About me

• Height: 5’ 10”
• Weight: 210lbs
• Previous Racquet Played With: Babolat Pure Aero
• Experience: 23 years of tennis
• NTRP/UTA Rating: 5.0/9.0

Test conditions

• When I tested this racquet: October 2022
• Days tested: One week
• Court Surfaces: Hard Court
• Match Play/Practice Session/Both: Practice Session
• Where I’ve used it: Local tennis courts

How it performs

What I was looking for

I wanted to try something similar to my Babolat Pure Aero, but heavier, to see how it plays differently than what I’m used to. I wanted to broaden my expertise in different racquets.

Why I chose this gear

I like the color of this racquet and I’ve always enjoyed Head’s racquets. The Radical has different weight sizes, so I picked this one (the Pro) because it was the heaviest. The MP is the lighter version.

What I love about it

• Control: Due to the weight of the racquet, it definitely forces me to not be able to swing as hard (mostly due to the swingweight), providing good control overall. Though since I play with a lighter racquet, the weight threw off my timing. It took some adjustment to figure out the timing of my shots.
• Power: The Graphene 360+ technology definitely helped provide good power, especially when hitting that sweet spot. Though one needs to swing a little harder to get that power. It’s definitely built for a younger, stronger player.
• Feel: With a thinner Spiral Beam tech included, it definitely feels smooth on contact with the ball. But after playing some serves and groundstrokes for an hour, there was a little soreness in my wrist and shoulder.
• Stability: Excellent stability with the volleys. They felt crisp and had great power behind the shots.
• Versatility: This racquet is definitely built for the all-around player, specifically one who likes to be aggressive and move up on the net to finish his shots out.
• Features: When hitting the sweet spot well with a topspin shot, it definitely added some meat on the topspin, which was really nice.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Maneuverability: Similar issue with control, the weight threw me off a good amount. Though this racquet maneuvered well enough with shorter shots like volleys and slices.
• Versatility: I had difficulty timing my serves correctly, causing the ball to land short at the net, or going long past the service box.
• Groundstrokes: I found it hard to hit the sweet spot on the racquet consistently, which caused a lot of inconsistencies in the placement of my shot. I felt like they were either going too long or too short.

Favorite moment with this gear

I enjoyed playing volleys with this racquet. It felt very stable on contact and really gave excellent power back. It made me feel really confident on pinpointing my volley spots.

Value for the money vs. other options

The great thing about Head is they come out with new racquets almost every year. This current racquet is on sale, since they will most likely come out with a new version (but it won’t be much of a difference in my opinion). It’s definitely a good quality, heavy racquet with an excellent price point associated with it versus similar playing racquets like the Babolat Pure Strike Tour or the Wilson Pro Staff 97.

Final verdict

This racquet is geared towards the all-around player who likes to hit heavy shots while coming into the net. It is definitely recommended for anyone who likes to play aggressive in their game.