Head Radical
…the ongoing racket success story
The Radical History
The HEAD Radical tennis racket range is one of only two which have been around longer than the upcoming stars on the tennis court. The Radical was first introduced in 1993. The only older racket model still in use is the Wilson Pro Staff, which was first used in 1983.
The original Radical was designed for André Agassi to use. He was, at the time, the up-and-coming tennis superstar who HEAD chose to support. They stuck with him through the ups and downs in his career and his success was the launch pad from which the Radical brand has grown.
From one Radical to another, each generation has undergone slight changes over the years to accommodate the latest technologies and materials that are now being used in tennis rackets. The first Radical was launched in 1993, which was specifically designed for Andre Agassi. The famous black and yellow frame (also known as “Bumblebee”) was actually re-released by HEAD in 2018 as a Limited Edition frame to celebrate 25 years of the Radical range, starting with the Radical Tour in 1993, all the way through to the current Graphene 360 Radical.
The Radical Graphene 360 range
The newest version of the racket, the Radical Graphene 360 range, has continued the tradition of introducing new technologies. The use of Graphene (classed as the lightest / strongest / thinnest material on the planet) in tennis rackets is limited to HEAD. For now, only HEAD rackets can benefit from this fantastic material. Graphene allows the manufacture of rackets with different properties and HEAD are only in the early days of exploiting it. Rackets can be made stiffer without the normally attendant vibrations or the increased weight necessary when using other materials. They can be more stable on the shot.
The use of Graphene has allowed HEAD to put the bulk of the weight into the top and bottom of the frame and leave the throat as light as possible. With the latest Graphene 360 models, HEAD have added graphene towards to the top of the head, which allows the racquet to be more stable and more powerful.
The Radical Graphene 360 range is currently used by some top players including Sloane Stephens and Diego Schwartzman. The most famous British wielder of the Radical range is, of course, Andy Murray. (HEAD pro players may play with different racquets from the model used)
Comparing rackets, and racket ranges, isn’t always easy and not always useful but people do ask. Depending on which characteristics you want to focus on the HEAD Radical Graphene 360 range is most like the Babolat Pure Strike, Wilson Blade and the Yonex VCore Pro. Based on our experience, players who play a ‘control based’ style of tennis often prefer the Radical. Within the range, there are the weight and headsize options to attract players of all standards. A player looking for out and out power from their racket probably wouldn’t find the Radical to be the weapon of choice.
We are finding that the new Radical is one of the two most popular rackets (along with the Speed) in the HEAD range.