Head Graphene 360+ Extreme Tour Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 82

The Head Graphene 360+ Extreme Tour was an easy-to-use racquet from the baseline, with excellent spin potential and a more control-oriented response. Jason found this racquet to be extremely easy to swing. He said, "Because of that, I was able to put tons of spin on my groundstrokes. I initially gravitated toward this model over the MP, but as I played more matches with it, I started leaning toward the MP for its easier power. I think the thinner beam, low swingweight and 11-ounce weight all combined to make this Extreme Tour slightly underpowered. On the plus side, I thought this was the most control-oriented Extreme I've hit with in a while."

"I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at this racquet over a year ago in blacked-out form," added Brittany. "It was the racquet I instantly clicked with before knowing what it was or what the specs were. When we finally got our official sample, I was excited to hit the court, and during the playtest I put it through multiple different situations. The first thing I noticed was how easy this racquet was to swing. I had no trouble generating racquet head speed, but I was also surprised by how low powered it was. This allowed me to swing out, and I was never worried about overhitting. I also thought the 98-square-inch head size was very forgiving. I typically use a 100-square-inch head size and did not have any issues adjusting. I would have liked a little more mass to allow me to really knife the ball on my slices since they were floating a little bit."

After a short adjustment period, Mark was able to find a groove from the baseline. He said, "I have been drawn toward lots of 305-gram frames these days and was excited to be on the playtest of the entirely new Head Graphene 360+ Extreme Tour, which is also 305 grams. From the baseline, I immediately noticed that the string spacing was a little tighter. It almost reminded me of the sweetspot for the Prestige MP, with my backhand slice being one of the benefactors. The result was a slightly lower ball trajectory, but it was still easy for me to develop a tight topspin rotation on either wing. Power-wise, the Extreme Tour feels more control-oriented than powerful, and I was sometimes scolded with a short shot if I was not swinging fast enough. After a couple hours of baseline play, I got used to swinging a little faster and was able to aim my shots to smaller areas of the court."

Tiffani went into this playtest expecting one thing and came out experiencing something entirely different. She said, "My past experiences with the Extreme line have been big power and spin, but this Extreme Tour felt almost underpowered during my first few outings. We had it strung with Lynx Tour 16 at our usual 53-pound tension, and this setup felt too dead in this racquet for my game. Troy strung up one of our samples with a 17-gauge co-poly, and it really helped open up the power potential for me. It didn't turn the racquet into a powerhouse, but I felt much more effective with my shots with a livelier string setup. I enjoyed the quick swing and found that I could easily hit with topspin with the Extreme Tour. With the lower-powered response, I found that I could swing away without worrying too much about overhitting. I only missed some of the free power of the Extreme MP when I was stretched out trying to flick at the ball. Where the Extreme MP might send back a playable shot, the Extreme Tour would not. It was like the racquet was telling me, 'No, sorry. You don't deserve to make that!' All kidding aside, I liked the Extreme Tour's more controlled feel and whippy nature. I could step inside the baseline to hit some angles, especially on the backhand side."

Volleys - Score: 80

Our playtesters had lightning-fast hands up at net with the Extreme Tour, but they did experience some stability issues at times. Brittany found success up at net, especially in doubles. She said, "As I have said in the last few Head family releases, I feel like the brand is taking steps in the right direction in terms of feel. This was critical up at net, and I was able to hit both deep volleys and shorter angle volleys. In doubles, I loved how quick the racquet felt and how I could get it into position with ease. This was important during quick reflex volley exchanges. There were a couple times up high or when I was stretching that I did feel some instability, but for the most part, the racquet did its job at net."

Jason felt very comfortable up at net with the Extreme Tour in his hands. He said, "I could quickly react to hard-hit shots without feeling like I was going to get caught in a jam. The downside here is that this racquet can get pushed around, especially with off-center hits. I would definitely add a bit of weight in the hoop to improve stability."

"This Extreme Tour felt very quick in the hand at net, and I liked that it was easy get my racquet on passing shots," added Tiffani. "I had my best experiences when punching through the ball. It didn't have quite enough stability to just block the ball back with good depth and power."

Mark had a similar opinion to the rest of the playtesters. He said, "As with most of my groundstrokes, I also felt confident hitting volleys with the Head Graphene 360+ Extreme Tour. With the exception of when I had to reach for a ball, its 318 swingweight offered enough stability."

Serves - Score: 82

The Head Graphene 360+ Extreme Tour produced mixed results for the playtesters when it came to serving. However, serves ended up being Mark's favorite shot to hit with the racquet. He explained, "Where I had to make an adjustment at the baseline with regards to the Extreme Tour's head-light balance of around 6 points, serving felt natural to me. There was not much of an increase in my serve speed, but spin and accuracy were great, often allowing me a chance to hit to the open court on my second shot."

"It's not often you'll hear me say that I had more success hitting spin serves than flat ones, but that was the case with the Extreme Tour," said Tiffani. "This racquet moved through the air easily, so I was able to get some additional action on my serves. I struggled to find the plow through on my flat serves, and I prefer a heavier racquet in those instances. This could easily be remedied by adding just a little weight at 10 and 2 in the hoop."

Jason appreciated the precision that the Extreme Tour offered. He said, "The directional control was on point. I felt confident attempting and hitting smaller targets because I could easily snap or pronate my wrist to get the ball where I needed it to go. Sure, I could've used a few more MPHs on my serve, but the spin and control made up for it."

The first thing Brittany noticed was that she was generating a good amount of power on her serve. She described, "Was it Pure Drive-level power? No, but it was enough to keep me on the offensive and get me some free points. With the lower swingweight, I had no issues getting the racquet up and over my head and generating racquet head speed. I was also confident in the placement of my serves, so I could confidently go after riskier targets."

Returns - Score: 82

When returning with the Extreme Tour, our playtesters could immediately press the attack thanks to the racquet's maneuverability and control. Returning serves was Tiffani's preferred way to start a point. She said, "The controlled response and quick swing of this Extreme Tour meant that I could take a good cut at most serves. I felt confident picking my spots and going after returns in a more offensive way than I typically would."

Groundstrokes and volleys are generally Mark's forte, and he tends to struggle more when serving or returning serve. That being said, Mark noted, "I felt the most comfortable serving and returning with the Graphene 360+ Extreme Tour, which is a switch. The overall weight to balance ratio of this racquet provided it with enough mass to be stable, and the right amount of maneuverability."

"I was surprised I returned so well with this racquet," said Brittany. "The return is one of my favorite shots to hit in general, and it was definitely my favorite shot with the Extreme Tour. I loved being able to swing freely and take full cuts at the ball on both first and second serve returns. My most successful shot was a low-angled return when my opponents served and volleyed, especially in doubles.”

Jason enjoyed swinging out on his return, but he wasn't as big a fan when it came to blocking or slicing the ball back. He said, "With the Extreme Tour's excellent mobility, I felt like I could hit a variety of returns well. The low swingweight gave me time to take full cuts at the ball, and I could pull my shot down the line or go cross-court with it. I didn't love it when I had to slice or block a shot back, because the ball tended to land a bit short."

Overall - Score: 82