Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.5

Groundstrokes may be the best litmus test for whether or not a racquet will work for our team. When it came to baseline exchanges, this Radical MP 2025 clicked with our playtesters immediately. With plenty of experience using past Radical MPs, Brittany felt right at home with this 2025 update. She said, "I have playtested many iterations of the Radical MP, and I’m happy to report that fans of the previous couple of generations will have no problem slipping into this update. I was able to start grooving right away from the baseline. I find that the Radical MP lands right in the middle of the power and control scale, with a slight lean toward the control side. This was great when I was practicing, and I loved cross-court rallies. When it came to point play, I was missing a little free power and had to work harder to hit aggressive shots, like my approach shot. I also found a couple of extra shots coming back. However, I thought the stability was great, and I really used that to my advantage on my slice backhand. I was able to hit it consistently and effectively both offensively and defensively."

Tiffani has also had plenty of experience with this racquet's predecessors. She explained, "This 2025 Radical MP offers a really similar playing experience to the last couple of generations in terms of its balance of power and control and its launch angle off the stringbed. There was a slight update to the feel, and I think there was a bit more ball feel with the 2025 version. As expected, this racquet does skew toward the control side, but I could hit a deep shot with good pace on well-struck balls. However, it wasn’t as forgiving as a 100-square-inch racquet when I didn’t hit cleanly, and I saw some of my groundstrokes dropping a bit short on mis-hits. I really did enjoy how easy it was to hit flat shots or add some arc for topspin. Slices also felt nice, and I could hit those either as an offensive or defensive shot."

Jason also picked up on the well-rounded nature of this racquet. He noted, "I thought this new Radical MP had a nice blend of power, control and spin. It wasn't amazing in any particular category, but I did like how I played with it. The access to spin was pretty good, and I particularly enjoyed it on my backhand slice, although I did feel like I had to swing out more to put shots away."

Hayden thought the new Radical MP slotted nicely into the line's legacy. He said, "If you like the Radical, this updated version will not disappoint. From the baseline, it felt exactly like you would hope a Radical would feel — comfortable and stable. Hitting on both sides of my body, comfort was the first thing I noticed; the racquet felt smooth and effortless. I was able to generate more topspin than expected, and the ball was really kicking off the court, especially off my forehand side."

Everything about the Radical MP allowed Zsofi to trust her game and go after aggressive targets. She said, "This racquet felt like a true weapon on court, especially on the baseline, where it rewarded my aggressive game the most. I felt confident taking charge of rallies, knowing that I could trust my shots completely. Sometimes I like to take the ball on the rise, and this Radical MP 2025 allowed me to confidently go for those shots. I didn't have a problem with maneuverability, but I do think it can be a bit tricky to whip the racquet head around. This also wasn't the most powerful racquet, which just meant that I had to generate most of my own pace."

Over in Europe, our testers had a lot of overlap in their experience with the Radical MP 2025. The blend of maneuverability and precision allowed Luca to create opportunities during baseline exchanges. He said, "I found this racquet highly maneuverable, making it effortless to maintain a good rhythm with excellent control. The Head Radical MP 2025 enables me to either change up the pace or hit aggressively with precision."

Likewise, Alex liked the Radical MP 2025’s blend of handling and accuracy. He added, "I really appreciated the maneuverability of this racquet, and it was easy to generate slice and flat shots with the perfect amount of control. The Head Radical MP 2025 helped me keep the ball inside the court when I hit an aggressive shot to decisively finish a point."

Volleys: 8

During net play, the Radical MP 2025 did an excellent job of maintaining its stability while still being easy to use. For Luca, there were some limitations for his preferred style of net play. He said, "This racquet felt a bit too stiff on my volleys, which affected my timing and shot quality." However, Alex found a lot more control and finesse for his volley style. He described, “It was the same story as the baseline. The control helped me play low volleys and allowed me to finish points with enough power."

Meanwhile, Brittany was able to employ the softer feel to absorb and redirect pace from her opponents. She said, “The slightly softer feel was appreciated when I was trying to mix up my volleys and hit some shorter, softer angles. Compared to what I am used to, the sweetspot of the Radical MP 2025 felt a little smaller. However, that gave me pretty good feedback on where I was making contact. The racquet wasn't the most maneuverable, so I had to make sure I was getting it into place early, especially on quick reflex volley exchanges."

This racquet's stability proved to be its best feature for Tiffani when volleying. She explained, "What stood out most to me on volleys was how solid the Radical MP 2025 felt. Even when I was missing the sweetspot, which is more often than I would like to admit, this racquet felt like it was holding its ground well and managed to keep the ball on target. This racquet was just maneuverable enough to not feel too sluggish for me on volleys."

Jason had no qualms at net and was able to volley effectively and consistently with the Radical MP 2025. He said, "I don't have much to complain about on my volleys. I thought the mass of the racquet made it fairly stable, even on off-center shots, and I was also executing drop shots and drop volleys pretty well with it.”

Playing on a net-friendly surface, Hayden made good use of the racquet's excellent touch and feel. He described, "I hit mainly on grass leading up to the playtest, so I spent a good amount of time at net. The comfortable, smooth feel at the baseline transferred nicely to the net. Hitting through the volley on harder shots felt good, but softer touch volleys are where the Radical MP 2025 really stood out."

Zsofi also experienced good levels of connection to her shots, employing her touch and control to create dangerous angles against her opponents. She said, "I felt nicely connected to my volleys and all touch shots. I thought the racquet felt a bit dampened, but not too much. It had just the right amount of response for me to feel connected to my shots."

Serves: 8.2

Serving proved to be a divisive experience for our team, with some members enjoying the Radical MP 2025's pocketing and others simply wanting more power. Zsofi had a better time serving with this racquet than most of the other testers. She said, "Serves were great with the new Radical MP! I was confident picking targets and also mixing the pace up. I think this racquet helped make my serves heavier."

On the other hand, Hayden had some difficulty when going for more pace, so he opted for more spin-focused serves. He said, "Racquets with this much softness don't always feel great on flat first serves; I prefer to hear a pop off the racquet. However, I found it easy to generate spin on my kick second serve, and the ball was kicking up high."

Similarly, Brittany found more success with spin-based mechanics as opposed to flatter, heavier serves. She explained, "I utilized my slice serve a lot on first serves. I loved slicing out wide on the deuce side to pull my opponent off the court. Power was a little tougher for me to come by with the Radical MP 2025. I had to put more effort into getting the racquet up and over my head, so I saved those serves for select important points. Second serves were just OK for me, and nothing really stood out."

The updated Radical MP allowed Alex to play an attacking style with confidence. He said, “On my second serve, it was easy to kick the ball with enough margin."

Back on the positive side, Luca experienced good control and reliability when serving with the Radical MP 2025. He said, "I found a high level of precision on my serves, making it easier for me to place my shots accurately. On my second serve, I had good control and enough margin for consistency."

While the Radical MP didn't give Jason a boost in the power department, it did offer plenty of control. He noted, "This racquet felt just OK to me on my serves. When going for a big, flat first serve, I didn't get a ton of free power compared to my own racquet. However, I did like it slightly better on my second serve because of the spin I was able to put on my shots. Directional placement was pretty good, and I felt like I could hit my targets well with it."

On her serves, Tiffani noticed some usable power, which was further bolstered by increased consistency. She said, "I wouldn't call this a power racquet, but I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of power I could get out of it on serve. I liked the way this racquet moved through the hitting zone, and I got moderate power out of it without extra effort. I also felt like I served consistently with the Radical MP. I wasn't double faulting as much and found a good rhythm in my service games." 

Returns: 8.5

When redirecting and absorbing pace off a serve, it's important to be able to pick targets and trust your ability to deliver. The Radical MP 2025 gave Luca the time he needed to start points on the right foot. He explained, "Both on first and second serve returns, I could send back a deep shot, buying myself time to set up my game plan for the rally. Overall, it was a super positive experience." Alex echoed, "On the return, I got a good feeling, especially when I was in a defensive position on first serve returns. I could answer a big first serve with a deep ball to give me more time to get into the point."

Brittany had no trouble finding a groove when returning with the Radical MP 2025. Her directional first serve returns were supported by more powerful, aggressive second serve returns. She said, "I preferred to be returning over serving with the Radical MP 2025 (like with most racquets). On first serve returns, I would take a compact swing and block the ball back with ease. On second serve returns, I had a little more freedom to step in, swing out and go after my shots to start the point off aggressively."

It wasn't always easy for Tiffani to get the Radical MP 2025 into position against heavier serves. She said, "There was a nice blend of control, stability and just enough maneuverability for me to feel good going into return games. I was finding myself late to the ball against heavy first serves, but when I changed my tactic and simply blocked or chipped the ball back, I was successful. The Radical MP 2025 was plenty stable for me to do that. When returning slower serves, I was confident that the ball was going to go where I wanted, so I could hit to smaller targets." 

Catching up to serves also proved troublesome for Jason, but he still found inroads by ratcheting up the pace. He described, "The slightly underpowered response allowed me to really swing away on my returns, which was really fun. I was late a little more often against bigger servers with this racquet. When I did block a return back I had to make sure to give myself a bit more net clearance or my shots would land near the service line, and I was left scrambling."

Elsewhere around the globe, Hayden had a great time returning with the Radical MP 2025. He said, "This was a very nice racquet to return with, and it absorbed the impact of the ball nicely. I was able to control block returns better than expected and hit through second serve returns with confidence."

Similarly, Zsofi found plenty to like about returning with the updated Radical MP. She noted, "Returns were a blast with this racquet! I felt confident stepping in and taking serves early. This allowed me to take control of the rallies relatively easily. On the other hand, if I needed to go for more of a defensive return, such as a backhand slice, I could trust that the Radical MP 2025 would be stable and allow my slice to sit nice and low."

Breakdown Summary