Head Radical MP 2023 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 85

Our international team of testers all agreed that the Radical MP 2023 offered a solid balance of power, spin and control from the baseline. For a few, including Jason, slice was a standout shot. He said, "I felt like this was a fairly user-friendly racquet from the baseline. Like with the previous generation, it has that nice blend of power, spin and control. I enjoyed rallying, but I also enjoyed attacking with this racquet since I felt like it had enough pop to put away shots. I also found pretty good success on my defensive shots because I was getting the ball to land closer to the baseline. One of my favorite shots to hit with the Radical MP 2023 was a low backhand slice."

With more of an all-court game, Howard leaned into the racquet's versatility. He explained, "My backhand slice was my favorite shot with the Radical MP 2023 when I was rallying from the baseline. The ball stayed low enough to the ground to allow me to sneak into the net. To my surprise, this racquet fit well with my game style. It was super easy to pick it up and hit topspin and slice. I had enough topspin to kick the ball up, and to bring the ball down in the court when I hit topspin lobs on the run."

Anna-Lena also got aggressive with her spin shots from the baseline. She said, "I needed some time to adapt to the Radical MP 2023 at the beginning of the playtest since it has a smaller headsize than I'm used to. After some time, I felt really comfortable playing with it. Overall, it is very solid. I loved how deep I could hit the ball on my groundstrokes, and I found nice power and easy access to spin; at the same time, it was really precise and I felt like I was hitting my targets well. I really enjoyed playing the backhand slice. The Radical MP 2023 felt stable, and my shots were more aggressive."

Tiffani, who hits a much flatter shot than Anna-Lena, shared her experiences from the baseline, saying, "It's been a while since I've officially tested a Radical MP, but I have had a chance to hit with most of the versions. When I play with a Radical my mind goes back to the Microgel version, which is the first Radical MP I ever played with and is the racquet that set the tone for what I like about the Radical series. I think the Radical MP has become more powerful over the years, but I'm happy to see that with the last couple of versions, including this 2023 racquet, the Radical MP is getting back some of the control. At first, I was struggling with my depth consistency with this version. We had it strung with a softer poly, and together with the Auxetic technology, it wasn't the best pairing for me. I found more confidence to swing out and my depth improved when we tried a crisper setup. I thought the Radical MP 2023 paired well with my flat game and counterpunching style. I could win points by redirecting the ball to get my opponent moving since I wasn't hitting anyone off the court with this Radical. That's just how I like to play!"

Austin also found the Radical MP suited his baseline game. He said, "I enjoyed hitting big off both wings. The Radical MP 2023 swings very fast with its head-light balance, and the spacing on the 16x19 feels properly spaced so I didn't lose control. The most notable takeaway I had from hitting groundstrokes was the feeling of the racquet flexing at its throat while remaining very solid throughout the rest of the hoop. I enjoyed all of the Radical MP 2023's features, including the combination of power and spin, the accessible control, the head-light balance and the firmness. The Radical MP 2023 was also very easy to maneuver in just about every situation."

Volleys - Score: 80

For the most part, our team found the Radical MP 2023 to be a versatile racquet at net. Howard tapped into his creativity when moving forward. He said, "The Radical MP 2023 was solid up at net, and I felt as if I could hit any shot I wanted. It was quick enough for reaction volleys but solid enough to block back hard hit balls. On impact, I felt super connected to the ball and had enough confidence to put away nice, angled volleys. What I enjoyed the most at net was my ability to hit a wide variety of shots from different positions."

Confidence was also on Austin's side when he was volleying with the Radical MP 2023. He described, "I quickly found familiar footing with the Radical MP when volleying. Because the stringbed played firmly, I was able to quickly dial in my placement, but I did find the response a little muted. Maneuverability was not an issue. The racquet's head-light balance and thinner beam made it feel quick, and I was nearly always able to get myself behind oncoming balls."

Tiffani had few issues with her net game. She said, "This racquet offered a good mix of stability, maneuverability and control. I could direct the ball to where I wanted it to go and drop it short now and then. Although I have no real complaints at net, I did have to punch at the ball to get the power I wanted when hitting deep volleys."

"I was impressed with the stability of the new Radical MP up at net considering it's a low 11-ounce racquet," added Jason. "The Radical MP 2023 provided enough pop and power to put away overheads and sitter volleys. The one downside here was the feel. This version felt more muted than its predecessor, so I didn't feel as connected to my shots."

Anna-Lena, however, never felt 100 percent comfortable at net. She said, "As volleys are not my preferred shot, I need a racquet that supports me. I didn't find that in the Radical MP 2023. The MP offered a great feel if I hit the ball right in the middle of the stringbed, but I felt like I was missing the sweetspot most of the time."

Serves - Score: 84

Our playtesters could start points effectively with the Radical MP 2023 in hand. Anna-Lena loved to tap into the racquet's power. She said, "When I hit it right in the sweetspot, the ball came out really fast and I was able to hit some aces, so I enjoyed that. I also never felt impaired when going for spin as a first or second serve. Overall, I felt confident serving with the Radical MP 2023."

Howard found that the the Radical MP 2023 excelled when it came to power. He said, "On serves, the Radical MP performed great. My favorite serve with this racquet was going down the T with a flat serve. The racquet did the job on second serves, but it felt a bit erratic on kick serves, and I had a bit of a struggle controlling depth on second serves. Overall, I enjoyed the swingweight of this racquet because it helped it come through the ball to create power."

Likewise, Austin got off to a quick advantage in games when he was serving with this Radical MP 2023. He noted, "I found no lack of power, spin or control when I was warming up my first serves, and I even surprised a few of the people I was hitting with after swapping over to the Radical MP 2023. My favorite serve with the Radical MP 2023 was my middle-of-the-box body serve. I could swing really fast and go after higher RPMs with plenty of margin and confidence behind the motion."

Jason liked to use spin and placement on his serves. He said, "The Radical MP 2023 was solid when it came to serves. I got plenty of spin on my first and second serves to make them effective, and I thought placement was pretty good too. It wasn't giving me a lot more free power than other racquets of similar specs, but it didn't feel underpowered."

Tiffani had a similar experience, adding, "It felt nice to swing the Radical MP 2023 overhead, but I didn't get a boost in the power department. It wasn't super powerful for me off the baseline either, so that was to be expected. I'm used to testing 100-square-inch racquets with 16x19 string patterns, so by comparison, the string pattern of the Radical MP 2023 felt a bit tighter. I was still able to get some good spin on my serves and use placement to my advantage."

Returns - Score: 80

The general consensus was that the Radical MP 2023 delivered a mix of control and stability that was ideal for returning. Tiffani thought returning was a highlight of her playtest. She said, "I felt more confident returning than serving, which is pretty typical for me. This Radical MP had good directional control, so I could mix up the placement of my returns. The racquet was plenty stable for my needs and was also just manageable enough in terms of swingweight that I didn't feel late to the ball. I liked that the launch angle was just high enough to keep me from drilling balls straight into the net, but not so high that I lost a sense of where my flat returns were going."

Agreeing with Tiffani, Anna-Lena added, "The Radical MP 2023 offered great stability on my returns. I was able to return with depth or hit my targets, even when returning fast serves."

Austin found some faults with the Radical MP 2023 when hitting returns. He explained, "Serve returns were my least favorite aspect of the Radical MP 2023. The racquet was maneuverable, and certainly provided plenty of power, spin and control, but returning serves did not produce the same results I found elsewhere. Although I was able to manage good consistency, the Radical MP 2023 lacked both the heft and firmness I need to really lay into my returns. Because of this, I much preferred returning second serves since I was able to swing faster to generate more offensive shots."

Jason had access to a variety of tactics when returning with the Radical MP 2023. He noted, "I thought the Radical MP 2023 provided me with nice versatility and usability when I was hitting returns. It was quick enough that I could take full swings at the ball, and the spin helped keep the ball in play. I also found good depth when chipping returns back."

Rounding out the review, Howard had positive results on his return game. He said, "This Radical MP leaned toward control on returns of serve. It had enough mass to keep it stable against harder flat serves, but it offered enough maneuverability to whip from low to high to produce the topspin I needed to dip the ball deep into the court. I rarely felt jammed hitting returns, which is amazing! My backhand return is still my weakest, and I enjoyed using the mass the Radical MP 2023 provided to push the ball into play."

Overall - Score: 84