Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Pro Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 81

With an 11.8-ounce strung weight, the Graphene 360+ Prestige Pro felt very manageable from the baseline, offered a stable feel and came loaded with plow through. Those aspects drew in Michelle, and the more she played with this racquet, the harder it was to put down. She explained, "This is the Prestige I never knew I needed in my life. From the first day hitting with all the new models, this Prestige Pro stood out the most for me. As the days went on, I paid more attention to other models, but I kept coming back to this racquet. I just played well with it. In the previous version, I remember noting that I did not find anything that stood out. With this update, the biggest thing that stood out to me was the ease with which I could defend and transition to offense. It was super stable, so even against big hitters I could keep a short backswing, absorb power and then accelerate to hit a deep shot in return. It consistently became my favorite thing about this racquet. I noticed I was able to stay close to the baseline and just control the court. I found easy depth and access to spin and really enjoyed drilling with this racquet. If I were to be super picky, which I can be at times, I noted some discomfort here and there; I'd blame the colder temps and the more oval grip shape that I am not as used to, although I know it has been updated with this iteration of Prestiges. Also, and this goes for every Prestige I tested, this racquet cut through slices very well, and I really enjoyed hitting that shot."

Although not her typical spec, Tiffani also found that this Prestige racquet stood out to her the most. She said, "Looking at the specs, I wouldn't expect the Prestige Pro to be up my alley, but after trying a few of the different Graphene 360+ models, this racquet stood out as my favorite in the lineup. This racquet felt easier to use for me on groundstrokes than I would have predicted with its 11.8-ounce strung weight. It's not what I would call whippy, but the swing felt very manageable in most cases. I struggled a bit if I let the ball get too high out of my strike zone on my backhand side, but that served as more of a reminder to myself to take the ball earlier. What was most impressive about this racquet was its solid, stable feel. It could take hard-hit shots and fire them back. I don't generate tons of power on my own, so this racquet was great in that it just absorbed what was thrown at me and spit it back. This stable feel also translated well to slice shots. I could drive a few of those rather than just using them defensively."

After some adjustments, Mark started finding his groove from the baseline. He said, "I felt right at home within 15 minutes of exchanging shots from the baseline with the new Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Pro, and most of that 15 minutes was spent getting used to the launch angle from its 16x19 pattern. The new Prestige Pro does provide a higher launch angle compared to the launch angle of the Prestige Midplus 18x20, but I felt it was lower than the launch angle of, say, a Babolat Pure Aero's 16x19 pattern. Once I made a slight adjustment my groundstrokes came into focus, and I was able to confidently aim to smaller areas of the court. My backhand slice stayed low and effective from the start, but it did take a little more time to dial in my topspin groundstrokes due to the launch angle."

Although it took some extra effort to get this racquet moving, Jason loved the resulting power, stability and feel. He said, "Even though the Prestige Pro was more demanding than I'm used to, I thought I was able to play really well with it when I was fresh. I very much enjoyed the amount of power I was able to get on my shots, and thanks to the open string pattern, the topspin helped control some of that power. The benefit of the more taxing weight and swingweight was stability and plow through. Better feel was the biggest improvement over the previous generation. I felt much more connected to my shots and could read where on the stringbed I was hitting the ball, so I could make adjustments accordingly. The biggest negative was the lack of maneuverability. I couldn't find those sharper angled forehands that I can hit with my own racquet, and pickup shots were tougher to execute."

Volleys - Score: 85

Volleying with the Graphene 360+ Prestige Pro was a cinch thanks to the racquet's stability and weight. Handling pace was not an issue, and the feel allowed for precise placement, which made volleys a highlight of the playtest. Tiffani made sure her timing was right and then let the racquet take over. She described, "My job at net was simply to get the racquet into position. It didn't feel lightning quick in my hands, but it still felt quicker than I expected. I'm often testing lighter racquets that require me to really punch through the ball to get good depth and court penetration. I loved how this racquet stood up to incoming pace and just fired it back without me having to do much. The racquet had a crisp feel to it, and I was able to find nice touch as well."

Jason was pleasantly surprised that he didn't have the same maneuverability issues at net that he had from the back of the court. He said, "I was expecting the racquet to feel and play more sluggishly than it actually did. The weight of the racquet was a big asset up at net. Whether I was trying to bleed pace off a shot or put away a sitter, I just had to remind myself to not swing too big and let the racquet do the work. I felt well connected to my shots, so I was confident attempting drop volleys."

Michelle kept her opponents at bay when moving forward. She said, "It's always good to put a racquet's stability to the test up at the net when big balls are being drilled at and around you. This Prestige Pro held up! I felt in command with my volleys. I could simply block balls back even when I was reaching. The racquet wasn't too heavy, so no floppy wrists. Also, I was able to keep my volleys nice and deep, and I even had hitting partners struggle with the consistent depth of my shots."

Volleying quickly became a standout portion of the playtest for Mark. He said, "The serve and the volley were my two favorite shots to hit with the Graphene 360+ Prestige Pro. Its tight 16x19 pattern and 11.8-ounce weight kept me feeling connected to every volley, and most often delivered the result I was predicting."

Serves - Score: 82

The confidence our playtesters felt when moving forward with the Graphene 360+ Prestige Pro carried over to serves. Jason took advantage of the frame's heft to impart more power on serves and start off points aggressively. He said, "Like with my volleys, the higher swingweight didn't bother my serve. In fact, it helped me get a little extra pop on them. I definitely noticed that I was getting more sitter returns that I could attack with my forehand. I also liked the great access to spin, because I hit the slice serve 80 percent of the time."

This Prestige Pro covered all areas of the serve spectrum for Michelle. She explained, "This playtest continued to work in my favor on serves. It was easy to generate pace. It was easy to generate spin and kick. It was easy to hit my targets. I was impressed with how versatile the racquet was. I've been playtesting a bunch of racquets that work well on second serves but not as well on flat, powerful first serves; this racquet did it all for me."

Mark added, "As I mentioned above, I especially liked serving with the Prestige Pro for basically the same reasons I was so comfortable with it at net. I will also add that its swingweight (in the high 320s) and its average balance of 6 points head light hit the proverbial 'sweetspot' for my game. It nicely balanced on the fine line between maneuverability and stability."

Tiffani needed to adjust her serve strategy to compensate for the heavier feel overhead. She described, "As I struggle the most with this stroke, the serve is where it took me the longest to adjust. I had to get used to the extra weight and get my timing right. I never quite got the hang of hitting serves out wide on the deuce side and left most of those in the net. I need a bit more free power from racquets on serve, so with this Prestige Pro I felt most confident aiming for conservative targets or going for the body serve."

Returns - Score: 81

Throughout the playtest, the Graphene 360+ Prestige Pro provided our playtesters the blend of characteristics they needed to successfully handle their return games. No matter what kind of serve was thrown at Michelle, she was able to find an answer. She said, "Similar to what I mentioned in groundstrokes, this racquet allowed me to be effective whether I was returning against big first serves or stepping up against weaker second serves. I felt really dialed in with my targets. I could cut kickers off and drive them down the line to take command of the point. I could block balls back nice and deep and give myself time to reset and get back into the point. I could rip angles and pull opponents off the court."

Jason was impressed by how offensively he could play off his return. He said, "I liked the fact that I could do more damage with my returns with this Prestige Pro than with my own racquet. The extra power was nice for either hitting a clean return winner or setting up an easier shot. Blocking shots back was really nice too because they'd land with decent depth, and I could recover for the next shot. And of course, the open string pattern kept all that power under control and was instrumental in allowing me to aim closer to the baseline."

The Prestige Pro offered Tiffani enough stability and maneuverability to suit her game. She said, "Big swings were not required on returns. As always, I preferred hitting returns over hitting serves. A short stroke on first serves could send back a solid reply, and mis-hits didn't feel too jarring. On second serves, the racquet felt mobile enough to take a fuller swing for a more offensive reply."

Unlike the rest of the team, Mark didn't find himself excelling on returns with this racquet. He said, "Not surprisingly, I was more challenged returning serves than I prefer to admit, as that is traditionally my weakest shot. However, I will attribute some of that challenge to the 4 1/4 grip size I used for this playtest, which is a bit smaller than what I generally play with."

Overall - Score: 83