This is a review of the new Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Pro. The new prestige racquet skipped the previous Graphene 360 and went right into 360+ which means it got unique spiralfibers in the frame for a clean impact on the ball. This doesn’t mean it’s not a classic Prestige racquet because it does still have a classic feel thanks to some awesome features form Head. The Prestige Pro is made for more aggressive baseliners thanks to the 16×19 string pattern which makes it very spin-friendly. It has a 95 sq.in head so defending might not be the optimal choice with this frame, of course it still works just fine but not as good as other racquets. Current pro players endorsing the new Prestige line are Marin Čilić and Gilles Simon (just two of them). Show
 Racquet specs:
The Head Prestige has been around for over 30 years! It might not be as popular like in the old days but it still holds up very well. I haven’t tried the Graphene Touch version but I have tried the Graphene XT version. The main diffrence between the XT and the 360+ is the comfort and stability. The 360+ is way more stable and much kinder to your arm on impact. How it played This new racquet is overall very stable and comfortable, I came switching from a Graphene 360 Radical Pro which is more stiff and has a bit lower launch angle than the Prestige. But on groundstrokes, serves and volleys they play simular except the Prestige rewards you better when hitting the sweetspot on full swings. So I had no problem switching to the Prestige, it might of taken like 1 hour and then I was ready to play matches with it. Overall very stable and precise. It’s a good update that at least appeals to me and I hope others to. If you enjoy attack, want a stable and precise racquet then this is a perfect match for you. Don’t forget to check out my Instagram and i hope you’ll have a great day! Will Boucek is the Founder & CEO of Tennis Tribe. With over two decades of experience playing & coaching tennis, Will now works as a doubles strategy analyst for ATP & WTA tour players and coaches. Will helps tennis players at every level play better doubles through smarter strategy. He also has expertise in tennis racquets & gear, testing the latest products from Wilson, Babolat, Head, Prince, and other tennis brands. It is high time for the head graphene touch prestige tour racquet review. I have play-tested this racquet for a few weeks and I was surprised to like it as much as a I did.As I wrote in my first impressions version of this HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Tour racquet review, the Austrian racquet company has not had an easy time with the racquetholics and tennis nerds since they introduced Graphene in their racquets. As most racquet lovers know, the HEAD IG series is seen by many as the last “true” HEAD racquets. Is this true or just exaggerated? I understand where the racquet purists are coming from. The HEAD IG line of racquets was impressive and offered modern classics such as the HEAD IG Prestige MP and the HEAD IG Radical Pro as well as a nice HEAD IG Prestige Mid. It is simply tough to improve on these racquets. The Graphene was HEAD’s idea to take up the fight with stiffer racquets on the market and their main competitors Wilson and Babolat. Some people love the Graphene feel, but I personally did not care much for the first and second iterations (Graphene and Graphene XT). The Graphene Touch is for me a step in the right direction and I have played racquets from all of their lines (MxG, Radical, Instinct, Extreme, Speed and Prestige). The Radicals and Extreme are still a bit too stiff for my taste, but the HEAD Graphene Touch Speed MP (read my post) was not bad and the Prestige Tour is definitely my favorite from the new Graphene Touch line so far. HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Tour Racquet Review – The specsLet us start by looking at the specs. I already wrote about this in my first impressions post, but a 99 sq inch head size and a 18×19 string pattern is not your typical racquet on the market. But I really think this works nice in this racquet. You get a nice, controlled response despite a bigger than average sweet spot. I think HEAD might be on to something here and if they can refine this model for the next iteration, it could be a truly great racquet. The racquet is definitely more comfortable than your typical Graphene racquet. The stiffness rating of 65 RA strung feels high in my opinion. I would have guessed around 63, but since the head size is bigger than your average 95 sq inch you need to stiffen the racquet a bit. I was surprised that the racquet played well also in stock form, but as always for me, some lead at 3 and 9 helped to give it some extra power, plough-through and stability. It might play even better with a leather grip and lead at 12, that is up to personal preference of course. Unstrung specs Head size: 99 sq inches Length: 27 sq inches Weight: 305 grams Balance: 7 pts HL Stiffness: 65 RA Beam width: 21,5 mm HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Tour Racquet Review: PerformanceI tried the racquet both with multifilament and poly strings and found the multi a bit too powerful and a thick poly a bit too low-powered. That is why I would recommend either a thin gauge (softer) poly, a hybrid string setup or a poly at a lower tension. If you can get the string bed to play plush, yet controlled, you are in for a nice ride. I really enjoyed playing with the HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Tour. It might not be a racquet I switch to (but after some customization, I definitely could), but it ignites some hope in me for other and future HEAD Prestige racquets from HEAD. HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Tour Racquet Review: First ratingsBelow is my video review of the HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Tour:For a second opinion on the HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Tour, check out this blog. Are you curious about the HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Tour? If not, why? Let me know in the comments below. Does head actually use graphene?Head have been early adopters of graphene in their sporting goods and have been including the wonder material into the frame of some of their racquets from as early as 2013. |
