The new Head Graphene Touch Speed MP tested by myracket.nl player Mike. This racket offers great power and spin, but at the same time also clearly more stability and feel than its predecessor!
Tested racket: Brand: Head Model: Graphene Touch Speed MP Blade size: 100 sq/inch Weight: 300 gr Balance: 32.0 cm Stringing pattern: 16/19 Length: 27 inch RA: 64 Stringing: Head Hawk Touch 17 (1.25 mm) on 23/22 kg Tester: Name: Mike Playing strength: 4/4 Type of player: somewhat classic player, flat groundstrokes, generates little spin himself. Until recently had shoulder problems Racket history player: Head Ti Fire, Babolat Pure Drive, Prince EXO3 Rebel Team, Wilson Steam 100 BLX2, Head Graphene Radical MP and the Prince Textreme Warrior 107. Recently also the Babolat Pure Strike 16/19 2017 in use. Innovations and technology: Previously we reported on the new Graphene Touch material from Head. We were even allowed to test a prototype of the Head Graphene Touch Speed S. This was our first introduction to this new material. Just to refresh your memory: What is Graphene Touch again?
According to Head, Graphene itself is the strongest and lightest material that can be used in rackets. By using this ultra-light material, especially around the heart of the frame, Head is able to move more mass to the top and the grip of the racket. This 'polarization' of the weight ensures more stable, more powerful frames without sacrificing the maneuverability of the racket. Head has been using this technology since 2013. Now Head comes with the third generation of Graphene: Head Graphene Touch. Graphene Touch provides a solid playing feel, but with a more dampening effect. This makes the feel of the rackets 'less hollow' at ball impact and can also be heard in the sound when you hit the ball. Baseline: The Head Graphene Touch Speed MP is a nice hitting weapon from the baseline. The racket accelerates easily and offers good grip on the ball for spin and slice due to the 16/19 stringing pattern. I have also tried the Head Graphene XT Speed MPA before. This is actually the predecessor of this racket, only with this MPA version you have the option to change the stringing pattern to 16/16 for even more spin. I tried it with the 16/19 stringing variant, just like what the Head Graphene Touch Speed MP now offers. This new Graphene Touch version plays clearly more stable and definitely also offers more ball feel. I even noticed this solid playing feel when I was allowed to test the prototype of the lighter Graphene Touch Speed S. In my opinion, Head is definitely on the right track to get the rackets even better balanced!
This Speed racket family was already known as fast, powerful and with good spin potential. Now there is a more stable playing feel. With off-center hits the racket felt a bit stiffer than the Graphene XT Speed MPA, but I absolutely did not experience that as unpleasant on the arm. In this way the racket actually gave good feedback on whether I hit the ball well in the sweet spot or not. Service: When serving I always need some extra help (read: power) from the racket itself. I now play with the Prince Textreme Warrior 107 for this extra power and less strain on the shoulder, especially when serving. It was noticeable that I had to put a bit more energy into the service myself, but that is more my problem than that this has to do with the new Head Graphene Touch Speed MP. The racket offers excellent grip on the ball for fine slice or kick serves and decent service power. Net: The Head Graphene Touch Speed MP is agile enough at the net. Actually quite neat for a racket that is more known as a baseline racket. The racket feels nice and robust to block hard balls, but also offers enough touch for emotional volleys. I was pleasantly surprised how this racket performed at the net! Power/control: This Head Graphene Touch Speed MP definitely has power. The Head Hawk Touch 17 (1.25 mm) with which I tested this racket is a bit more of a control-oriented string. Nevertheless, the potential that this racket has in terms of power was clearly noticeable. If you were to string this racket with, for example, the Head Gravity or the Diadem Solstice Power 17, the balls would undoubtedly bounce off your blade even more. This is what the previous version of this racket also did well, but there was less control and ball feel. This update ensures that the Speed MP is much better balanced in my opinion: good power and spin potential on the one hand, a solid playing feel and more control and feel on the other!
Comfort/arm friendliness: This latest version of the Speed MP is a bit less 'such a stiff board', which really benefits the comfort. The RA value has also gone from 67 in the previous version to 64 in the current version. Sometimes this is at the expense of the (free) power in the racket. In my opinion that is not the case here. As mentioned before, there is enough power in the Graphene Touch Speed MP. However, there is now an extra bit of comfort, feel and stability. This cannot be due to anything other than the new Graphene Touch material. The Speed MP has clearly gained comfort for the arm/shoulder. General impression: With this update with Graphene Touch, Head brings a Speed MP that is much better balanced in my opinion. It is and remains a racket with a fast feel, a lot of power and good spin potential, but now also offers a more stable/solid playing feel, which contributes to extra control and ball feel. Great update all in all!