Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.5

The Prestige MP 2023 dazzled during baseline exchanges with its mesmerizing blend of power and precision. Rarely do we see a racquet so well balanced that one of the aforementioned traits is not sacrificed for the other. Oak found this dichotomy quite surprising and leaned into the experience. He explained, "The Prestige MP appeared on paper to be very much a control-oriented racquet, with its denser 18x19 string pattern, 99-square-inch head size and, of course, the inherent control of Head's Prestige line. I was quite shocked when this racquet proved to be an absolute cannon from the baseline. On every groundstroke the ball would leap off the stringbed with a relatively high launch angle and start flying deep — with or without my approval. I didn't have to swing out much at all because the ball would naturally have depth and high net clearance. This made rolling backhands cross court or up the line an absolutely dreamy experience, and I felt like I could simply pick my spots and let the racquet do all the work. On my forehand, the easy power and precision were great for defensive stabs and slices, and when I stepped into my shots the ball pocketing felt quite nice due to how soft these Prestiges are. The Prestige MP 2023 responded quite nicely when I upped the intensity, allowing for easy hammering into the corners. I will say that the elongated shaft beam construction doesn't always jell with my game style. It sometimes feels clunky and hard to maneuver throughout my take back and follow through, perhaps due to its 330-plus swingweight. Thankfully, the racquet makes up for the lack of handling with extremely high capability in most other categories."

For Chris, the adjustment period was short. Once dialed in, he was able to create lots of problems for his opponents with his crafty game. He said, "I quickly found the groove when hitting with this Prestige MP even though its balance didn't feel quite right in my hand. I prefer a more head-light feel, but I liked the feel of the swingweight once I had this racquet in motion. I had to work a little harder to match the drive through power of the Prestige Pro 16x19 we were also testing, but while my shots were not as heavy, I was impressed by the pace I found on flatter shots. I was able to hit clean winners, but when rallying it took more effort to push opponents off the baseline. The plush response of the frame and the 18 main strings combined to provide me with lots of control and feel for the ball. I enjoyed hitting my slice backhand with this racquet. I felt like I could knife the ball with lots of depth and directional control. My topspin backhand was also working well."

Munish found himself impressed by how the 2023 Prestige MP played from the baseline. He said, "I really liked this racquet on groundstrokes. It was easy to maneuver and I could put the ball anywhere I wanted. The ever-so-slightly open string pattern also helped in shaping the ball, which then helped me open the court a bit more. I was surprised by the power levels this racquet provided at first. I'm not used to getting power from Prestige frames, but I eventually adjusted to it."

Although perhaps not as whippy as Jason would've liked, this Prestige MP's stability was a good fit for his more aggressive baseline game. He noted, "This racquet provided really good stability and felt solid on my groundstrokes. This racquet felt more stable than my own even when I mis-hit the ball, but I did struggle slightly with generating the racquet head speed that I’m used to. It took some time to adjust to the tighter 18x19 string pattern, and my shots were initially clipping the top of the net more than normal."

Volleys: 8.5

Up at net, the inherent heft of this Prestige MP combined with its control-oriented string pattern to create a pleasing volleying experience across the board. Most of our testers were able to take the ball early and let the racquet block the ball back instead of having to put extra effort into their volleys. The Prestige MP allowed Munish to take full advantage of his quick hands and clean net game. He said, "My volleys with this racquet felt very crisp and stable. The ease with which I could maneuver the frame allowed me to catch faster shots consistently, giving me a slight advantage when caught in a rally with our bigger hitting testers. Despite the maneuverability, this racquet was also solid enough to send the ball back with a lot of intention and power. The Prestige MP 2023 has to be one of my favorite racquets to volley with."

This racquet's stability proved to be a standout feature for Jason. He said, "I really liked this Prestige MP up at net. Whether I hit it in the sweetspot or off center, the racquet felt nice and stable. I could just stick my racquet out and block back shots with pretty good depth and control." 

Oak struggled a bit with the maneuverability of this Prestige MP when volleying, but he still found ways to shape shots to his liking. He said, "Up at net, this racquet performs well with lots of inherent touch. Because I enjoy using touch, soft hands and spin to shape my volleys, the softer layup with Auxetic 2 did make volleying feel quite natural for me. I felt like this racquet didn't have quite as much maneuverability as I would like for my match-day setup, but I'm more of a baseliner anyway, so I didn't find a ton of issues with it. The Prestige MP did have a slight tendency to launch balls long when I hit put-away volleys, but for the most part I appreciated the depth." 

As one of our best net players, Chris was able to hone in on what makes this Prestige MP so special. He described, "I liked the feel of the Prestige MP at net. The racquet has that buttery soft response I want from a Prestige. I felt very connected to my volleys and was consistently finding my targets. I found enough pop to help me dig out tough volleys and still generate depth. On touch volleys, the plush feel helped me place the ball delicately to my desired target. The Prestige MP 2023 felt easy to maneuver in my hand, yet it had enough stability to fend off incoming pace."

Serves: 8.1

The serve was one shot that required our playtesters to be a bit more intentional when using the Prestige MP 2023. Our testers enjoyed its precise nature once they got used to how this racquet handled on serve, and it encouraged them to go for aggressive spot-serving. For Chris, the serving experience took some getting used to, but it wasn't inaccessible. He said, "I served decently with the Prestige MP 2023. This isn’t the most powerful racquet, but I did get some nice pace on my flat deliveries. I was getting solid bite on the ball when I hit slice serves, which allowed me to carry ample pace on my wide serve to the deuce court and still get the ball to dip inside the lines. I was also able to get plenty of spin on my second serves, so I could still hit with pace without sacrificing consistency." 

Oak enjoyed the control afforded to him when serving with the Prestige MP 2023, but he found himself reining in his racquet head speed to keep from hitting long. He said, "I found myself really having to dial back my overall motion when I served with the Prestige MP 2023. This prompted me to go for easy swings and drop kick serves in without overhitting them. I will say that, for the most part, the more muted feel of the Auxetic 2 tech does give really good feedback without sacrificing overall feel. Sometimes with more muted frames the feel tapers off, which thankfully isn’t the case here. My favorite serve with this racquet was probably a flat serve up the T on either side. I felt like the precision was more than enough to go for those spots."

The Prestige MP's serving experience was hard for Jason to manage at times due to the lack of free power. He explained, "I have to admit that I did not love this racquet on serves. I struggled to find good pace on my serves, and I wasn't getting a ton of spin either. I was placed on the defensive immediately after my serve, which is not a great place to be." 

Thankfully, Munish was able to take advantage of this racquet's playing characteristics on his serve. He said, "It took me a while to get my serves going, but once I was dialed in I was able to hit all my spots. The issue in the beginning was my inability to gauge the power of the MP, so I was either swinging too fast and hitting out or too slow and into the net. The maneuverability and stability shone through again and helped me hit really good kick serves, which isn't usually the case for racquets with denser string patterns." 

Returns: 8.4

The Prestige MP 2023 offered a lot of easy depth on returns, which complemented the racquet's inherent control. Across the board, initial adjustments proved necessary, but not insurmountable, for our testers. Munish had to make an effort to not hit so big, which allowed him to more effectively target his spots. He noted, "I had to constantly tell myself to not swing into my returns as much as I do with the Prestige Pro or the Tour because this MP is a bit more powerful. I did find it quite easy to direct the ball, especially against the bigger servers I faced. I'll give credit to the denser string pattern as well, because I was adding a ton of net clearance to my returns, and the ball would dip in at the last moment when it would usually fly out." 

Having an opposite experience when it came to power, Jason needed to increasing his swing speed to achieve good depth. He said, "The Prestige MP was pretty solid on returns. I just needed to shorten up my backswing slightly to compensate for the higher swingweight. I found pretty decent depth too once I adjusted my aim to be slightly higher over the net. The only negative here is that it is a little underpowered." 

Oak had a shorter adjustment window since he found the Prestige MP 2023 to naturally meld with his style of return. He described, "Returns with this racquet were extremely satisfying, primarily due to the depth afforded and the great control. Additionally, the ball pocketing made me feel like I could redirect pace easily, with ample time on my side to bring the ball back wherever it needed to go. Half take backs for returning serve felt easy enough, and I enjoyed how the Prestige MP 2023 felt when I swung through the ball with an abbreviated motion." 

This Prestige MP 2023 allowed Chris to lean into his return game, giving him dangerous variety off both wings and when under pressure. He said, "My returns were working well with the Prestige MP. I felt very in control of my shots when it came to both depth and direction. I could swing the racquet fast enough to allow me to accelerate quickly off a short backswing. My return game felt very versatile with this racquet, and I could drive the ball with pace, roll an angle or float the ball with slice. I found myself attacking any serves that looked even remotely tasty. I also found good results when blocking back tougher deliveries."

Breakdown Summary