Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.2

The Radical Pro 2025 provided Chris with excellent control, although he had to adjust for the racquet's launch angle to get dialed in. He said, "I found a lot of control with the Head Radical Pro 2025. The launch angle off the stringbed was a little low, so I had to aim higher at first, but that was my only adjustment. I would have liked a little more liveliness from the upper portion of the stringbed because I found power to quickly drop off there. Still, I was able to construct points well with the racquet. My slice backhand was working well, and I felt particularly in control of my placement with that shot."

Troy instantly appreciated the Radical Pro 2025's feel; its weight and swingweight offered him excellent stability and plow through. He said, "I liked this racquet's heft and swingweight from the very first hitting session. I was finding some good plow through on my groundstrokes, and it felt nice and stable on contact. I wouldn't say the power came easily with this racquet, but when I had the time to take a big cut at the ball, the mass and swingweight helped me to hit through my opponents. I loved this racquet on slice; it had nice plow through and the ball stayed low. In terms of topspin, I would say this racquet was moderate. It's not super whippy, and the string spacing is fairly dense for a 16x19."

Michelle has always been a fan of the Radical Pro, and she even considered making the previous version her racquet of choice, but this update presented some challenges for her. She explained, "With a bold new cosmetic, I had high hopes for the Radical Pro 2025. Unfortunately, I had a few struggles with this update. I had a hard time finding the sweetspot consistently and found the upper hoop to feel a bit brassy and low powered. I struggled to get easy depth, which is what I expected from the racquet. As the playtest went on, I grabbed the previous version of this racquet and confirmed that the hitting experience just wasn't on par. I could get easy pace and depth with the outgoing model, yet I really had to work hard to find the same depth and power with the 2025 version. I really had some trouble on my backhand wing, and the racquet just didn't swing as fluidly as I would have liked. It was frustrating because on paper everything looked like the racquet would play nearly perfectly. By the end of the playtest, I was fairly bummed about this racquet. During my last hitting session I slowed down my swing and didn't force anything, and that was the best this racquet played for me."

Although the Radical Pro matched Munish's usual specs, it felt slightly heavy to him, so he needed some early preparation from his side. He struggled the most with his one-handed backhand. He said, "Despite being in my spec range, the Radical Pro 2025 felt a bit heavy to me. I had to prepare really early for both my shots, and that helped. My backhand suffered the most because I struggled with getting the racquet around. I found myself just blocking or slicing my backhands during faster rallies. The power level of the Radical Pro is amazing. I had tons of put-away power, but that was only when I was able to swing it around in time. My slices were probably my favorite shot to hit with this racquet."

Volleys: 8.3

The Radical Pro 2025 offered tons of stability and control for our playtesters on volleys. Troy was able to move his opponents around the court with precision. He said, "This Radical Pro 2025 was solid, stable and predictable when it came to volleys. I enjoyed coming to the net with this racquet, and I found a nice, stable feel on contact. There was plenty of control and precision, which allowed me to move my opponents from corner to corner when I needed to. In terms of touch and feel, this racquet wasn't as special as the Head Prestige Pro 16x19 2023, but I still felt comfortable going for the short angles and drop volleys. If I am being picky, I would like a bit more of a head-light balance on this racquet, especially on my volleys. Some added weight in the handle would likely be something I would try."

Munish found excellent feel and stability at the net with the Radical Pro 2025, which allowed him to hit deep and angled shots, but its maneuverability was a challenge during faster rallies. He described, "I got tons of feel from the Radical Pro 2025 up at the net. I was able to get the ball deep into the court, and I rarely had stability issues. I was even able to hit a lot of angled shots because all I had to do was direct the ball. The one thing I had trouble with was the maneuverability. During faster rallies, I had difficulty getting the racquet into position in time, and I lost a few points because of that."

Michelle was fairly happy volleying with the Radical Pro 2025, but it didn’t knock her off her feet. The racquet did everything she wanted it to do, but nothing that truly stood out for her. She said, "Volleying with this racquet was fine. It was fairly stable and quick at net, so I didn't have any problems. It was pretty point and shoot. I found it easy to dig out volleys at my feet and push forward at the net."

The Radical Pro 2025 provided Chris with a great balance of stability and maneuverability, allowing him to volley with enough power to finish points quickly. He explained, "I volleyed well with the Head Radical Pro 2025. The racquet offered a nice blend of stability and maneuverability, and there was enough power on tap to help me quickly end points with a firm volley. I also liked the way the racquet held up to incoming pace; I never felt like I needed a death grip on the handle to keep the racquet head steady. My touch shots were on point, and I felt fully dialed in."

Serves: 8.5

Our entire team found success serving with the Radical Pro 2025. Serving was Michelle's favorite part of the playtest. She said, "Thankfully, whatever struggles I had on my groundstrokes weren't present when serving, and I could get some nice pace and placement, as well as good access to spin. I especially enjoyed hitting kick serves, and I got good movement out of the racquet. I wasn't hitting my hardest serves with this racquet, so I leaned into the spin and movement I could generate on my slice and kick serves."

Troy's flat serves worked really well with the Radical Pro 2025. He credited that to the racquet's swingweight and stiffness. While his spin serves were consistent and precise, he wondered how the racquet would play with some weight added to it. He said, “I felt like I was getting the most benefit on my flat first serve. There is a good amount of swingweight built into this racquet, and with the medium-firm stiffness rating, the ball really seemed to pop off the racquet with plenty of pace. It wasn't quite the easy power that I get from my Yonex EZONE 98+, but I felt like I could really thump the ball with the mass that was built into this racquet. Spin serves were consistent for me; nothing was really giving me a boost in spin, but I felt in control and could place my spin serves with precision. As I mentioned in the previous section, I think some added weight to the handle would help with maneuverability."

The Radical Pro 2025 worked well for Chris' serves, allowing him to whip through the ball and generate plenty of pace. The racquet was also good for adding slice to his serves. He said, "The Head Radical Pro 2025 was a great racquet for me on serves. I liked the way I could accelerate this racquet through the ball and get lots of pace as a result. Not only were my serves quick, but the serve quickly became my favorite shot with this racquet. I have been adding a little more slice to my serves lately and found this racquet to be a very willing partner in getting the action I want on the ball."

Munish found a solid mix of power and control from the Radical Pro 2025, which allowed him to consistently hit spots with both first and second serves. Although, he did need to put in some work to get the racquet into position for his kick serves to be effective. He said, "The Radical Pro 2025 has a good blend of power and control. I rarely thought my serves weren't effective due to lack of pace, and I was able to hit all my spots. At this point, I had already figured that I would need to put in a bit more effort to get the racquet up and over my head. My second serves were as good as my first. I mostly hit kick serves, and I was hitting all the spots. Double faults were rare, as were return winners off either of my serves."

Returns: 8.3

Control was the name of the game for two of our testers when returning with the Radical Pro 2025, while our other two testers had a tougher time in this category. Troy's returns with this racquet were precise and effective. He described, "I was feeling dialed in on my forehand returns, as well as my backhand slice returns. My flat forehand return felt solid and stable, and I had good plow through on the ball. The Radical Pro 2025 gave me the confidence to attack the server when I had the chance, and it allowed me to find good depth and pace on my returns. My slice return worked well when I needed it. I could keep the slice low, and with the swingweight coming in close to 330, it helped me keep the ball nice and deep with little effort. The precision was good, which is something that I noticed while playing doubles, which allowed me to place my returns effectively out of harm's way (out of the net player's reach). Like I mentioned on groundstrokes, I did notice a slightly smaller sweetspot than I was hoping for. However, it wasn't a huge issue for me on returns."

Michelle had trouble finding consistency with aggressive returns using the Radical Pro 2025, but her slice returns were effective. She said, "Similar to my experience on groundies, I struggled a bit on returns to find harmony with this racquet. My style is to bash balls pretty hard when I can, and I just felt disconnected from my returns. My slice returns did work well, however."

Chris found tons of control from the Radical Pro 2025, allowing him to return with variety. He said, "The solid response of this racquet on returns allowed me to redirect pace well. Again, the racquet offered lots of control. When given the opportunity, I had a lot of fun driving returns back with depth, pace and spin. When forced to be more defensive with my returns, I found enough control to chip the ball back with good accuracy."

The Radical Pro's stability and feel helped Munish hit controlled returns, and he often used slices and chops. He said, "I couldn't be too aggressive with my returns, even on second serves. I found that if I swung into the ball, it would fly out. Most of my returns consisted of slices and chops deep in the center of the court. When facing bigger servers, I could just block the ball and still make a play out of it. The stability of the racquet definitely helped me out in these situations. I had a good feel for the ball, and that allowed me to hit some drop shot returns."

Breakdown Summary