Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.4

The Head Gravity Tour 2023 played with tons of precision and control, but the big surprise was the maneuverability of this update. Racquets with dense string patterns and low RAs have always been Chris' favorite, so the updated Gravity Tour was right in his wheelhouse. He said, "I immediately found the groove with the Gravity Tour 2023. The racquet's weight, balance and swingweight all felt well suited to my game. Maneuverability was a plus for me with this racquet. I was able to swing fast enough to generate plenty of pace and spin on my shots, which helped me be very creative with my placement. I also found tons of control to help me find my targets. Although the Gravity Tour felt fast, it also felt decently stable. I felt like I was getting enough on the ball that I could push my opponent onto their back foot, but not so much on the ball that I ever felt like I had to hold back. There was a very nice blend of control and power for me with this racquet."

Being used to a more open pattern, Jason had some trouble with the launch angle of the Gravity Tour. He said, "I thought this racquet was fairly easy to maneuver around the baseline. I had no major issues generating racquet head speed, and even with a tight string pattern, I thought I was getting pretty decent spin on my shots. However, the one area that I found tougher to adjust to was the launch angle. It was lower than what I am used to, so I was hitting the top of the net a lot more than normal. My shots just had less arc to them, and it was tougher to shape my shots. The one shot I really enjoyed was my backhand slice. I felt like I was able to really knife it and get my slice shots on more of a direct line to my target."

Tiffani has always been a fan of the Gravity Tour line. She said, "Since the Gravity line debuted, the Tour model has been my favorite, but it has not always been easy to get in the US. I'm happy that the Gravity Tour is available in the States, even though we had to wait until 2024! The Gravity Tour's specs align really well with my preferences, with a tighter string pattern, 305-gram unstrung weight and 100-square-inch head size, which is the same as my own Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100P. I felt comfortable from the start with the lower launch off the stringbed and found it great for my flatter stroke style. This Gravity Tour is lower powered than my own racquet, though. I couldn't play tentatively or else my shots were landing short and were attackable, or I was netting the ball. On more confident full swings, and when redirecting incoming pace, this racquet came to life. I loved the feel at impact and felt that the directional control was great. I don't hit high-arcing topspin in general, and I didn't find this racquet super whippy to create easy topspin. However, I loved the action I could get on slices, and I found those to be very effective shots."

Brittany was quick to mention how the lower powered nature of this racquet let her take advantage of the control and swing with a lot more racquet head speed. She described, "While not all specs of the Gravity Tour are in my wheelhouse, I have been playtesting several racquets with similar specs, so the adjustment period was only about one to two hours before I started to get comfortable with this racquet. From the baseline, I found that the Gravity Tour leaned more toward the control side (versus power). For the first 15 minutes of hitting with this racquet I was lacking some power and depth. I found I could increase my racquet head speed without overhitting to get the ball to land deep and heavy in the court. My defensive slices stayed low to the ground, which was extremely effective. I liked to practice with the Gravity Tour, especially getting in a groove hitting cross court. When it came time to play points, I didn’t have enough oomph to really dictate points, so I found a couple more shots coming back to me than normal."

Volleys: 8.9

Our playtesters had praise across the board for the Gravity Tour's volley performance. Brittany was particularly impressed by the stability and responsiveness of the Gravity Tour 2023 at the net. She described, "Volleys were the highlight of this playtest for me. They were easily my favorite shot to hit, and I have to say that there are not too many racquets that I have playtested that have that distinction. I would describe myself as an aggressive baseliner and don't make it up to net that often. However, during my first hitting session with this Gravity Tour I felt like I couldn't miss a volley. The racquet offered a stable and responsive feel that produced consistently deep volleys back to my hitting partner. I wish I were craftier to fully unlock the potential of this racquet. I did have some great pickup volleys, but I know someone like Chris, who has great hands at net, could really take advantage of this racquet."

Our playtesters had praise across the board for the Gravity Tour's volley performance. Brittany was particularly impressed by the stability and responsiveness of the Gravity Tour 2023 at the net. She described, "Volleys were the highlight of this playtest for me. They were easily my favorite shot to hit, and I have to say that there are not too many racquets that I have playtested that have that distinction. I would describe myself as an aggressive baseliner and don't make it up to net that often. However, during my first hitting session with this Gravity Tour I felt like I couldn't miss a volley. The racquet offered a stable and responsive feel that produced consistently deep volleys back to my hitting partner. I wish I were craftier to fully unlock the potential of this racquet. I did have some great pickup volleys, but I know someone like Chris, who has great hands at net, could really take advantage of this racquet."

The hype continued as Tiffani stepped on court. She also brought up the feel of this racquet and its spin capabilities. She said, "Because I really enjoyed how this racquet absorbed pace, I felt comfortable at net. The maneuverability was fine. This Gravity Tour didn't feel the fastest at net for me, but it also wasn't sluggish. I again loved the feel. I hit some of my best touch shots in a long time with this racquet. I could really carve out good backspin and place the ball short."

Jason was initially wary of the low launch angle of this racquet, but his concerns were dispelled as soon as he moved to the net with the Gravity Tour. He said, "The low launch angle wasn't as much of an issue up at net. I liked the blend of power and control that I was getting on my volleys. I also thought it had good feel to it, which was helpful with touch volleys."

Serves: 8.3

All of our playtesters loved serving with the Gravity Tour 2023. Some of them did wish the racquet had a bit more power like the previous generation, but the easy targeting of the new version was greatly appreciated. Jason noted the racquet's reliable blend of power and control. He said, "Hitting serves with this racquet was very predictable. The stringbed didn't really have any hot spots, so I was able to get a consistent response on every serve. I would put the power level as average. I wasn't getting too many free points on serve, but I also wasn't having a ton of return winners hit at me either. I thought both directional and depth control were above average, and this was the highlight feature in this category."

Despite the Gravity Tour's denser string pattern, Chris could hit with ample topspin and kick to get the ball dipping into the service box. He said, "My serves had solid pace with the Gravity Tour 2023. I felt like I was getting just enough help from the racquet in terms of pace and penetration. Spin also came easily. I was able to add enough spin to get my serves to dip inside the lines while still going for plenty of pace. I felt connected and confident on my serves. I found myself being aggressive on both first and second serves, which helped me maximize both pace and spin."

Brittany put the Gravity Tour's control and easy targeting to use when serving. Her second serve was where she resorted to hitting more kickers, bringing the maneuverability of the racquet into play. She said, "I found plenty of control on serves, and I loved accessing my slice serve out wide on the deuce side. There wasn't very much free power, so I had to put in a little extra effort to get some more MPHs out of my first serve. I was a little more conservative on my second serve, kicking it into the body of my opponent. Although it wasn't a racquet I was getting very many free points with, I was able to hit my serves consistently throughout a match or practice session."

Tiffani also wanted more power on serves, but it didn't hold her back too much, and she was able to resort to her slice serves with the Gravity Tour 2023. She explained, "Here's where I could use some free power. I'm not likely to be serving anyone off the court with any racquet, but I did not find easy power on flat serves from the Gravity Tour. My best tactic was to slice the ball on every serve. There was enough access to spin, so I didn't feel like I was going to start every serving point on defense."

Returns: 8.5

With its sub-320 swingweight and an 18x20 string pattern, the Gravity Tour 2023 allowed our testers to swing freely on their returns and get the ball back nice and deep. Chris had no problem taking riskier line shots and big slice returns because he was able to depend on the control and stability of the racquet. He said, "The control of the Gravity Tour 2023 shone through on returns. I loved taking a good cut at the ball, and I felt confident enough to flirt with the lines. I was able to control the depth and direction of my drive returns very well. My slice returns had ample spin and bite to them, and I had fun cutting a nice low angle return from the ad side of the court."

With the Gravity Tour in her hands, it was easy for Brittany to get the upper hand and start points with an aggressive return. She said, "This is yet another racquet I have added to the 'return over serve' list. The nice thing about the Gravity Tour 2023 is I didn't have to do much. I could simply step up to the baseline and take a shortened swing at the serve. I was confident that the racquet was stable enough to absorb the impact, and I had enough control to aim my return wherever I liked. I could apply this method to both my first and second serve returns, which let me start off points aggressively."

Despite not being the biggest fan of dense string patterns, Jason could depend on the Gravity Tour 2023 for a low, almost no-bounce slice return. He described, "I found slicing and dicing my returns gave me the best results. I was able to get my net clearance and depth on my returns that way. When I would try to rip a topspin return, I wasn't getting the depth I wanted and would often clip the top of the net tape. Obviously, it wasn't on every return, but it happened more often than I would've liked. However, the control was excellent, and I was able to get the Gravity Tour into position pretty quickly with minimal effort."

As a player whose key style of playing is absorbing pace and redirecting it, Tiffani loved how the Gravity Tour 2023 worked for her return game. She said, "I mentioned earlier how much I liked this Gravity Tour's ability to absorb pace. I liked the feel and could redirect my opponent's power, which is my primary game style. These features translated really well to my return game. This racquet felt comfortable and up to the job of returning both first and second serves. Although it didn't feel like it was swinging super easily through the air, I didn't struggle with being late all that often. I could chip or swing out depending on what kind of serve I was looking at."

Breakdown Summary