Why the Head Extreme Tour is The Best Racquet on the Market

As a racquet reviewer, there are few questions that I hate more than “what is the best racquet?” My default answer is “there is none.” But who am I to rob you of that secret knowledge? The best racquet is the Head Extreme Tour and here’s why.

A Head Extreme Tour wedged in the snow on a fence. Beckett Chung. TennCom Media, 2021.

Stability is for losers, hit the ball in the centre of the strings

I would say that stability is one of this racquet’s primary weaknesses. Mainly, torsional stability. I think the beam design is quite efficient, so you actually get a lot of torsional rigidity with the Extreme Tour, but you don’t get the support of raw mass that some of it’s competitor’s have. TW measures the twistweight at an incredibly average, 14.31. Off centre forgiveness isn’t that great either. Racquets like the Pure Strike 98 offer a lot more just when you hit outside the sweet-spot. The Extreme Tour feels borderline uncomfortable on off-centre shots.

But I like that. I like knowing when I’ve miss-timed the ball. And I don’t like a high twistweight either. The additional maneuverability is so much more useful for generating spin on both forehand and slice. So to anyone who complains about utterly mediocre torsional stability on this stick should just go an get a tennis lesson.

Weight Distribution: 104

Similar Performers

Head Extreme MP: 103

Head Radical MP: 108

Babolat Pure Drive: 110

Spin, the most important category

Everyone knows that spin is the most important category in any racquet. This is because spin is the coolest way to win. Hit a sick dropshot? Well you used spin. Hit a banana passing shot? Spin. Geometrically impossible angle? Spin.

Some secret sauce in the Extreme Tour allows for this unparalleled combination of spin potential and stringbed consistency. Racquets like the Pure Aero and VCORE 98 offer huge amounts of spin potential, but they lack a lot consistency from the stringbed. Open string patterns and stiff racquets are very good for spin potential, but they are horrible for predictability because they often foster high launch angles. Increased string snapback may lead to more RPM’s, but the greater trampoline effect is undesirable. Somehow the Extreme Tour offers absolutely mad spin on everyshot, and yet, the launch angle is super low. This gives me access to shots I simply don’t have with any other racquet.

Stringbed Performance: 97

Similar Performers

Head Radical Pro: 96

Wilson Prostaff RF97A v13: 98

Head Gravity MP G360+: 99

Feel, good enough

The bar for feel is pretty low these days. Sadly, the demand for powerful, comfortable, yet lightweight racquets has overcome the demand for racquets with good feel. This is because weight increases power and comfort. Remove weight and you have to increase stiffness to increase power. Increase stiffness and you lose comfort. Then you have to add vibration dampening tech to get comfort back. Vibration is necessary for feel, but the racquet companies have to remove as much vibration as is reasonable to keep the racquet comfortable for your hacker-tennis-elbow.

So the Extreme Tour has good feel, but it’s not great. I think it’s better than the Gravity and Prostaff, but not quite as good as the Dunlop CX200 Tour or Ultra Pro (Tour). What stands out is the lack of vibration filtration, medium stiffness and solid feel. This leads to a crisp and responsive feel, than isn’t too hollow or muted. It doesn’t feel like a big stick of graphite, but it’s as close as you can get in this category.

Power is for weaklings, hit the gym

The biggest complaint I hear about the Extreme Tour is it’s lack of power. I’m not sure if you seen my videos, but I am a weakling. Just look at my arms. Yet, by some miracle, I think the Extreme Tour is perfectly powered. Borderline overpowered in some instances. Why? Because I know how to get the most out of my racquets. Add lead tape to increase the swingweight, and you’ll have more than enough power to decimate your opponents.

Potential Energy: 112

Similar Performers

Wilson Blade 98 16x19: 109

Wilson Prostaff 97: 110

Babolat Pure Strike 100: 113

Important Competitors:

For a list of key competitors, check out this article.