Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 80

From the baseline, our playtesters all agreed that this Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid offered a solid feel with a lot of precision, but a couple of them needed some time to get used to the smaller head size. This racquet proved to be somewhat hit or miss for Michelle's aggressive baseline game. She explained, "I was able to playtest three of the new Graphene 360+ Prestiges, and this Mid was the most demanding. When I struck my groundstrokes cleanly, hitting the ball right in the sweetspot, the feel was great, and I was finding my targets precisely. Anytime I made contact outside of the sweetspot, which happened more frequent than with the Prestige Pro and Prestige Midplus, the feel was a bit jarring, and there was a significant drop in power. When I was slightly late to the contact point with this Prestige Mid I was more likely to hit an error than I was with the Pro or Midplus. On the other hand, I loved the weight and stable feel on contact. There was enough mass to help me plow through the ball and put it away for a winner. Overall, I loved the weight and feel of this racquet when I hit the ball cleanly, but for my style of play, I need a head size with a few more square inches."

Mark had similar sentiments. He found that this racquet both challenged him and rewarded him when hitting his heavy topspin groundstrokes. He said, "Compared to older Prestige Mid racquets, which were heavier and had an 18x20 pattern, this version was much easier for me to swing effectively for longer periods of time. With that said, coming from my 100-square-inch Graphene 360+ Gravity Pro, it took me a couple of hitting sessions to feel as though I could consistently find the sweetspot of this Prestige Mid. I gradually felt more comfortable making contact in the sweetspot, and I really started to tap into what this racquet has to offer, which is a very elite level of precision. The mass of this racquet did a wonderful job of absorbing hard-hit incoming shots and made it easy for me to redirect the ball. The one shot from the baseline where this racquet really shone was my backhand slice. The racquet plowed through on the slice with relative ease, and I found easy depth with a low trajectory, making that shot very effective."

For Troy, the best things about the 360+ Prestige Mid on groundstrokes were the weight, the balance and the swingweight. He said, "That first moment was just right, almost like the first time I picked up my old Wilson Six One 95 18x20, which I played with for years. I was timing the ball well right from the first session, and there was a nice, solid feel on contact. When I swung freely on my forehand this racquet felt like an extension of my arm. As much as I loved playing aggressive, offensive tennis with this racquet, playing in a defensive position was quite difficult. The more I playtested this racquet alongside the Midplus version, the more I realized how demanding this Prestige Mid is when pressed for time or hitting on the run. If I was pushed back in the court or had to hit a passing shot on the run, it was fairly difficult to get depth on the ball, and it usually resulted in my opponents having an easy put-away shot. When I was feeling confident and could step into the court to play an aggressive baseline game, this racquet was a gem. On those days when my timing felt slightly off, or when my opponents were beating me to the first punch, I had a somewhat difficult time trying to grind it out with a defensive style."

Chris felt dialed-in from the baseline and enjoyed how user-friendly this racquet was, considering its head size. He said, "From the first hit, it was obvious this racquet continued the recent Prestige Mid trend of offering a more modern response. Although this update has a firmer flex rating, the overall power felt pretty similar to the previous Graphene Touch version. I enjoyed this racquet equally on my forehand and backhand wings, while noting a very crisp and precise feel. The sweetspot felt forgiving for a mid head size, which gave the racquet a comfortable feel. The 16x19 string pattern made for a relatively easy launch angle as well. My shots had plenty of net clearance, yet they still dropped nicely inside the baseline. Both my topspin and slice shots had plenty of spin, which helped me hit with lots of pace without sacrificing control."

Volleys - Score: 84

When it came to net play, our testers discovered a stable, precise and crisp feel with this Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid in their hands. Reflecting on how this racquet performed on volleys, Troy had plenty of positive feedback. He said, "My favorite time on court with this racquet was when I came to the net. As with some of the mid-size racquets that I have tried in the past, I feel like I can volley the ball anywhere I want with no struggle. This Prestige Mid's weight and swingweight combination created a solid and stable feel on my volleys. There wasn't a ton of added power, but there was enough mass for me to block my volleys back deep. I also found enough connection to the ball to execute drop volleys and short angles effectively."

Chris had a similar experience to Troy when it came to hitting volleys. He added, "I loved the crisp feel of this Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid at net. I felt totally connected to where my shots were going; all I had to do was line up the strings with my target, and my volleys zipped right there. This racquet offered impressive touch on my drop volleys, and there was ample bite from the stringbed to help me undercut the ball with lots of spin. As I noted on groundstrokes, there was a comfortable feel on contact, and the sweetspot felt generous. I felt very confident utilizing my serve-and-volley game when playing doubles. This racquet felt stable on contact as I closed the net, and to top that off, the precision I found helped me pick apart the opposing team."

Michelle didn't find any faults with this racquet's performance on volleys. She said, "I found a very solid, stable feel when coming to the net with this Prestige Mid, and that isn't something that I can always say about the racquets that I playtest. As a user of the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph, I am accustomed to a superbly stable feel on contact, and this racquet did not disappoint. For being just under 12 ounces strung, this Prestige Mid actually performed a bit beefier than the weight would indicate, and that was fine by me. It has a thinner beam than my racquet of choice, so I found it to offer more feel for the ball. I will be the first one to tell you that touch, feel and drop shots are not my strong suit, but when I needed it, this racquet gave me plenty. When I set up the point to close the net, I felt like I could carve up a sharp angle to put the ball away."

As with his time at the baseline, Mark had his ups and downs at net. He said, "For me, this Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid was the proverbial double-edged sword at net. On the one hand, the head-light balance, compact head size and aerodynamic thin beam made it relatively easy to maneuver and peel off a good volley. When I hit my volleys cleanly, this racquet felt very solid and stable, and I felt as though I could drop the ball on a dime. However, when I got caught in quick exchanges at the net, I found myself not having as much success finding the relatively small sweetspot, especially compared to my Head Graphene 360+ Gravity Pro. Those less-than-cleanly-struck volleys often resulted in a weak shot that my opponents could pounce on."

Serves - Score: 83

The Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid provided our team with plenty of spin and control on serves. Mark was surprised how well this racquet worked for him in this category. He said, "I have been tinkering with my serve lately, trying to impart more spin. Going into this playtest I assumed the mid-size head would limit me from trying to get more spin and action on my serves. I was pleasantly proven wrong in that assumption. I found that I was generating ample spin on my serves; if anything, this Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid helped improve my serve overall. Although it was a little more demanding than my Gravity Pro, I was able to hit my serves very effectively. I felt as though this racquet helped me work out a few kinks in my serve since I had to be more technically sound to get the same amount of power as I usually do with my racquet of choice. The main benefit I found with this racquet compared to the larger head sizes that I usually play with was a higher level of accuracy. I am not the type of player who is going to break speed records on the radar gun, but I was getting enough of pace to be effective against my competition, and I was hitting my spots very consistently, which made it more difficult to get a read on my serves."

For Troy, the combination of control and spin that this racquet supplied on serve was much appreciated. He described, "The control and precision allowed me to consistently place my serves in the corners of the service box. I could hit my flat serves up the middle or slice serves out wide, both with a lot of accuracy. When I tried to max out my power on a flat serve, I noticed a slight drop in speed compared to my Yonex EZONE 98+ racquet. That said, when I stopped focusing so much on trying to max out my serve speed, I was able to relax and serve with a more fluid motion. This allowed me to generate plenty of pace and hit the corners of the service box, which proved to be very effective in helping me hold serve."

Once again, Chris found the Prestige Mid to work well for his game while being relatively easy for him to use. He said, "For being a mid, I thought this racquet offered good access to spin on serves. I was able to brush the ball aggressively and not catch either the leading or trailing edges of the frame. I was happy with the amount of pace I got and felt like my flatter first serves had decent power on them. With that said, my favorite serve was the slice out wide, serving on the deuce side. The precision of this racquet allowed me to swing that serve quite wide and catch the line, and the open string pattern helped to impart a lot of rotation on the ball."

Michelle appreciated the consistency and control of this racquet on her serves, but she preferred the other versions of the Prestige that she playtested. She explained, "I felt like this racquet allowed me to be pretty effective when serving since I could place the ball precisely within the service box. I was able to nail a few aces here and there, but the power wasn't quite up to the level that I have come to expect from my Pro Staff RF97 Autograph. Although the precision of my serves was good, I felt like I could get similar accuracy with the Prestige Pro or Midplus, while gaining the advantage of added power. The 16x19 string pattern allowed for easy spin generation, especially for a mid-size, which helped me get some added jump off the court with my topspin serves. That being said, I was able to generate even more spin with the Prestige Pro."

Returns - Score: 83

The Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid was stable enough to stand up to heavy serves when our team was returning, but it wasn't always the easiest racquet to use. For Mark, though, when it came to hitting returns, this Prestige Mid was just what the doctor ordered. He said, "When I'm testing a racquet, either the forehand or the volley is usually my favorite shot to hit, as those are the strengths in my game. However, this racquet really helped out my return game. As I mentioned in the groundstroke section, the Prestige Mid did a great job of absorbing and redirecting high-speed incoming balls. This helped me block my returns back deep, especially on those 100+ mph serves that some of my fellow playtesters like to blast at me. My backhand slice return is a big part of my game, and this racquet complemented that shot well. The command I had over the ball proved to be very rewarding while playing doubles. It allowed me to pick my spots and play keep away from the opposing team."

Chris' affection for this racquet continued on returns. He said, "I enjoyed the control I found from this Prestige Mid on returns. Again, I thought the racquet offered a forgiving response considering the mid-size head. Generating power and spin was pretty easy because the racquet felt maneuverable enough for me to take a solid swing on my returns. The amount of comfort stood out once again, and I had plenty of feel for the ball without any undue shock at impact. There was enough mass and resulting plow through on the ball for me to feel very confident knifing my slice returns when I needed to."

For Michelle, there were times when this Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid felt magical and times when she wanted a bigger sweetspot on her returns. She said, "When I connected just right, I could blast my returns with a lot of pace and depth. In these moments, I put my opponents in a troubled position or hit the return right past them. However, I struggled to find the sweetspot of the stringbed consistently, and if I didn't hit my return cleanly, it usually meant that my opponent was in a prime position to win the point. As I mentioned previously, the sweetspot felt a bit smaller than I would have liked, and I kept wanting to revisit the Prestige Pro or Midplus because those suited me better."

The mass and stability on contact were the standout features for Troy when it came to his returns. He said, "I wouldn't say that the serve return was necessarily my favorite shot to hit with this Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Mid, but I loved to take a big slap at the ball when I had the chance. Anytime I had that extra second to take a bigger swing, this racquet rewarded me with deep, penetrating returns. With the precision that the 93-square-inch head size offered, I felt confident hitting those risky returns deep near the lines, and I made the shot more often than not. What was even more beneficial to me was the solid feel of this racquet on contact. It felt stable when facing high-speed servers. For the most part, I was able to line up the strings behind the ball and let the racquet plow through, making my returns effective even when I had to keep a compact swing."

Overall - Score: 82