This Prestige Tour 2023 beckons big hitters with its nearly 12-ounce strung weight. For some players that might sound like a task to swing, but Michelle was right at home with this racquet at the baseline. She said, "This has been the Prestige model that I tend to gravitate toward due to its slightly thicker beam and slightly more open pattern compared to the Pro, which is a bit less powerful and more flexible. I remembered exactly why I liked the previous version of this racquet and the one before that; it offers just the right amount of plow through and access to power and spin for me, and it feels so solid on every shot from the baseline. I found good depth and control and enough mass to push my opponents back. The feel was softer than I remember from the previous versions, and consistent with what I remember, the 95-square-inch frame offers a forgiving sweetspot. As I get older, I'm not sure a smaller head size is right for me, but this is one of those racquets that helps elevate my game. This update felt easier to maneuver than the previous one, which was appreciated. My backhand slices were solid, and they were a fun way to mix up the point."

This racquet falls right into Troy's preferred spec range. He found this 2023 version more manageable than the previous model. He explained, "As with the previous couple of versions, I noticed right away a solid amount of plow through on the ball when slugging from the baseline. With the swingweight coming in at about 330 strung, I felt very comfortable and dialed in with my groundstrokes. I will also note that this 330 average swingweight makes it swing much easier than the previous 2021 Auxetic version, and it’s more similar to the racquet from two generations ago, the Head Graphene 360+ Prestige Pro. I really enjoyed the precision and targeting I was getting on my groundstrokes, especially my forehand and backhand slice. When I was timing the ball well and playing an aggressive attacking style, this racquet really rewarded me. However, if I was feeling a bit off my game or was in more of a defensive position, this racquet wasn't all that forgiving. I did notice a softer and plusher feel with this update (Auxetic 2), but I also felt like there was a little less pop or energy return than with the last couple of iterations."

"This was another playtest where my main focus from the baseline was to get the rather heavy tip all the way through contact with the ball," added Mark. "Once I got used to emphasizing that, my rally tolerance was decent, directional control was great, and it was nice to see my opponent trying to deal with the deep, heavy shots this racquet can produce."

You can always count on Chris to change up the pace of a point, and luckily (but unluckily for his opponents), he found success mixing it up with this racquet. He said, "I felt like I was hitting big, heavy shots with the Prestige Tour 2023. The racquet offered lovely plow-through power and felt super solid at impact. The stringbed offered a slightly higher launch angle than the 18x20 string patterns I typically hit with, so generating depth and net clearance was not an issue. I also found a ton of control from this racquet, and my touch shots were working very well."

Our team praised the Prestige Tour 2023's control and solid feel at net. Volleys were a highlight of this review for Mark. He explained, "I associate the term 'precision' with most every Prestige frame I have played with, and that was definitely the theme at net with Head's 2023 Prestige Tour. With the exception of the serve, the volley was the most fun and easiest stroke to execute with this racquet. The smaller head size delivers the precision, with its heft and flexible layup of graphite backing that up with control and stability."

Troy, on the other hand, had some ups and downs with the Prestige Tour at net. He said, "When coming to the net, I appreciated the solid feel of this racquet and the precision to command the ball throughout the court. With the swingweight, I found the stability to be pretty good on my volleys, and it held up pretty well against hard hitters. That said, there were times when I felt like the sweetspot was a little demanding, which meant that the response was somewhat dead if I contacted the ball slightly off center. However, when I was hitting volleys cleanly, the feel was pretty sweet — solid and stable. With the 95 square inch head size, I felt I could place the ball consistently to my targets. I found good touch and feel too, but not quite at the level of the Head Prestige Pro 2023 or the Yonex Percept 97D."

"The Prestige Tour 2023 felt very solid at net," added Chris, who can often be found closing out points at the net. "I had fun punching volleys deep and letting the mass of the racquet do the work. On touch volleys, I was able to hold the racquet with a very soft grip for maximum feel, and I never had to worry about it twisting in my hands."

Michelle had no complaints here. She said, "I love how stable this Prestige Tour is, especially up at the net. The racquet maneuvered well, and volleying was easy with it in hand. I always felt in control of where I was hitting, and I could place shots just inside the baseline."

Everything lined up to make the Prestige Tour 2023 a weapon for our playtesters when they were serving. That was especially true for Troy and his lefty spin. He said, "I was a big fan of serving with some of the older iterations of this racquet, like the Head Graphene Prestige Pro (looking at the old review archives, I scored it a 9.8 on serves), and I’m a big fan of this update. The combination of precision and spin potential is what makes me feel so confident when serving with this Head Prestige Tour 2023. I feel like my best attributes as a server are my placement and the spin I can generate, and I feel like this racquet enhances both. As for power, when I needed to go for more pace on a first serve, there was some decent pop off the racquet, even more than the Prestige Pro 2023. I really felt dialed in when going for my targets, finding all the corners of the service box. My favorite serve was the kick serve out wide on the deuce side."

Chris agreed that serving was a highlight of this playtest. He added, "One of my favorite shots to hit with the Prestige Tour 2023 was the serve. I found good access to both spin and pace. I added a bit of spin to my first serves to give me some margin for error and was hitting fast and consistent serves. When I did have to hit a second serve I went for a smidge more spin, but never really let off the gas. Needless to say, I had a lot of fun serving with this racquet."

Continuing the praise, Michelle compared the Prestige Tour to other racquets in the 2023 line. She said, “I also playtested the lower powered Prestige Pro, and this Tour offered me freer power and was an easier racquet to serve with. I could get some pop off the serve and still felt dialed into my targets. Slice and kick serves were executed well. No complaints here! As with any racquet I enjoy, flat T serves were what I craved hitting most during this playtest."

Mark, too, had no downsides to report on serves. He said, "There seems to be a trend developing for me, with the serve tending to be my absolute favorite shot to hit with a heavier racquet. The 95-square-inch head size is slippery enough through the air, which somewhat disguises the Prestige Tour's weight, and it provided what playtester Granville would describe as scalpel-like precision."

When it came to returning serves with the Prestige Tour 2023, our playtesters again highlighted how solid this player's racquet felt. Chris described, "The stability of the Prestige Tour 2023 felt great against big incoming serves. I liked how the racquet went through contact, and I was redirecting pace very well. I found the Prestige Tour easier to maneuver compared to other player's spec racquets we have recently tested, but with that said, this racquet rewarded clean technique, and I could not whip it as easily as the Pro version."

Michelle got all of her returns going with this Prestige Tour. She explained, "Given how much I liked this racquet from every other spot on the court, it's no surprise that I enjoyed it when returning. Again, I have to note stability as the standout feature. I could take big swipes at the ball, and missing the sweetspot never felt that detrimental. I was able to get the pace up and hit my returns deep into the court. Because the swingweight was just around 330, I also had success with angles and could get around the ball effectively on every return I wanted to go after."

Our other two playtesters had a couple of issues on returns. Troy noted, "For the most part, I found good results on my serve returns. The mass of the racquet, specifically the weight in the hoop, helped to block big serves back with good depth. I felt confident hitting my forehand returns because I could swing aggressively and find my targets. I also found a nice low slice backhand return, which was helpful against net rushers, keeping the ball out of their strike zone. Similar to what I mentioned on volleys, the Prestige Tour 2023 was a little hot and cold when it came to the stringbed. When I hit it cleanly, I was getting a lot of pace and depth on my returns, but when I hit slightly off-center there was a significant drop off in power and the feel was a little lackluster."

While the Prestige Tour 2023 couldn't quite do everything Mark wanted it to on returns, he quickly figured out a game plan. He said, "Although our test racquet had a swingweight of around 334, which was a bit lower than the prior Auxetic Prestige Tour, I was still challenged to do anything that resembled a topspin return. That said, my chip return, which I most often rely on, was reliable and semi-effective."