Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.7

During baseline exchanges, the Prestige Pro 16x19 proved to be a formidable contender for our team. This advanced racquet offered a lot, with our playtesters highlighting the easy depth, pace and placement on full swings. For Chris, the solid nature of the racquet shone through and allowed him to swing freely with confidence. He explained, "I really enjoyed the Prestige Pro 16x19 from the baseline. It felt very solid, and I liked the way it came through contact. I was able to drive the ball with solid depth and pace, finding easier access to both than with the Prestige MP we were concurrently testing. My topspin shots had good shape to them, with ample net clearance and enough spin to get the ball dipping inside the lines. Even though this racquet felt solid, I found it easy to whip through contact, which helped me put the spin-friendliness of the 16x19 string pattern to good use. I liked the response on my slice shots too. I was hitting with a nice combination of pace and spin to help the ball skid low. The fast feel and solid spin also gave easy access to angles. I was able to carve around the outer edge of the ball off either wing and dip angled shots with ample pace."

Troy was also able to make good use of the racquet's inherent mass and heft on his groundstrokes. He said, "I liked the weight of this Head Prestige Pro 16x19 2023, and the plush, smooth feel on contact. I loved the feel, the comfort and the plow through mass of the Prestige Pro 2023 (18x20) when I playtested it, but I felt like it was lacking spin potential, and I wanted a higher launch angle. This 16x19 pattern gave me the added spin and launch angle that I was looking for. I loved hitting heavy topspin and creating sharp angles to help me open up the court. The soft flex made me feel as though I could pocket the ball and hold it on the strings, while the 16x19 pattern gave me easy net clearance; it felt great on topspin angle shots and passing shots. I found good control and feel when it came to my slice shots, but I did prefer the 18x20 version slightly more on slice because I could really attack the ball with a lot of backspin. All in all, I loved the plush feel of this racquet from the baseline. It might lack slightly in power compared to some other racquets I hit frequently (like the Yonex EZONE 98+), but it offers amazing feel and comfort, and good spin potential."

Michelle was surprised by just how much she liked this racquet. Her expectations were ultimately exceeded by her hitting experience, and she found plenty of ways to make this Prestige work for her game. She said, "On paper, this racquet's specs look appealing to me, minus that stiffness rating. Because of that, going into this playtest I assumed I just wouldn't jell with the racquet. Boy, was I wrong. On my first hit, everything came together flawlessly for me from all areas of the court. The Prestige Pro 16x19 swung fluidly off the ground, and it had enough mass and swingweight to punish the ball. Because it was easy to swing, I could also construct points with rally balls. This Prestige Pro 16x19 was maneuverable enough for me to find angles and hit with spin, and then I could put balls away with confidence. I was concerned it would feel noodle-y on impact, but that was never an issue. This racquet was stable, and it felt both fluid and solid at all times. My backhand slices were amazing, and I was shocked to find that I literally had zero complaints."

For Mark, the overall hitting experience was more than satisfactory, and he found himself enjoying the overall hitting experience. He described, "From the baseline, the level of plow-through stability of the Prestige Pro 16x19 was excellent overall, and I never felt like I was getting bullied, whether I was in an offensive or defensive situation. Although the string pattern is a 16x19, it is tighter than most other racquets that feature the same number of strings, which definitely complemented the effectiveness of my backhand slice. That said, developing topspin was easy, and as a result, so was shot depth, especially compared to the noticeably tighter pattern of the 18x20 Prestige Pro."

Volleys: 8.8

At net, the control and weight of the Prestige Pro 16x19 made punching through volleys quite easy, allowing for good spot selection when our playtesters were looking to end points. For Michelle, volleying proved to be entirely delightful. She said, “It was easy to command volleys with power and touch. The stability of the Prestige Pro 16x19 stood out to me here, and because I was feeling so confident from the baseline, I loved moving forward to finish points. This was one of those racquets that also aided me in the touch shots that I don't often have in my repertoire due to my hands of steel."

Mark was also quite satisfied by the Prestige Pro 16x19's feel and control capability when volleying at the net. He said, "This is another spot on the court where I really enjoyed the feel of its 20-mm flat beam and the combination of its overall weight and head-light balance. Whether I was trying to absorb pace to drop the volley short or putting the ball away, the new Prestige Pro 16x19 was obediently up to the task." 

As something of a net specialist, Chris is often looking for enhanced feel and touch when executing volleys at the net. Thankfully, this Prestige Pro 16x19 was more than up to the task. He said, "I expect a lot of feel on my touch volleys with any Head Prestige, and this Pro 16x19 version met my expectations. I was able to place my volleys very well and found the response to be silky smooth. The stringbed offered good access to spin, so I could cut a volley with some slice to make it harder for my opponent to reach. I also enjoyed the stability this Prestige Pro 16x19 offered on firmer volleys. I was able to use the racquet's mass to hit hard volleys to the open court or punch one behind a recovering opponent and quickly get the ball out of reach."

For Troy, the feel and plushness of the Prestige Pro 16x19 allowed for easy playability and finesse. However, he was craving some additional stability in high-pressure situations. He explained, "Once again, the weight and the plush feel combined for a comfortable experience on my volleys. There was enough built-in mass to help me punch through the ball with ease. What I loved the most was the soft feel on contact. Whenever I faced high-speed incoming shots, this Prestige Pro 16x19 2023 absorbed the shock very well. I also felt like I could execute touch volleys comfortably and with a lot of feel for the ball. Although it was very plush and comfortable, My only knock would be that I didn't find it to be as torsionally stable as some of the firmer player's racquets. For example, the Wilson Pro Staff 97 v14 and the Tecnifibre TFight 315 ISO have stiffer layups and feel more solid and stable on volleys; however, the downside might be some lack of comfort and plushness. So I guess the Prestige Pro 16x19 strikes that balance between feeling soft and plush for comfort and having enough stiffness in the right locations for enhanced torsional stability."

Serves: 8.7

Our players are quite partial to control-oriented frames on serve, and this iteration of the Prestige Pro 16x19 delighted with its amazingly well-rounded serving capabilities. There was plenty of precision to make spot-serving very doable, and the inherent mass of the racquet made powering through serves effective when looking to generate pace. For Chris, there were no glaring issues on serve. He said, "I like a racquet with some mass to it on serve, as it helps me find a little extra pace. This Prestige Pro 16x19 had enough weight to satisfy my needs, and I was serving well. On first serves, I was able to combine a little bit of slice with good pace to hit a penetrating ball. On second serves, I found the Prestige Pro 16x19 to offer more than enough spin for me to give the net good clearance and still dip the ball to its target." 

For Troy, the control afforded to him on serve with the Prestige Pro 16x19 was exceptional. He said, "This is one of those control-oriented player's type of racquets, like the Wilson Ultra Pro 16x19 v4 or Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19, that gives me great precision and easy access to spin. This worked well for all my spin serves, and I was utilizing my lefty slice out wide on the ad side with great precision. However, my favorite serve was the kicker out wide on the deuce side. With the head-light balance and sub-330 swingweight, I could maneuver this racquet easily for pronation of my wrist to generate a lot of spin on my kick serve. When it came to my flat first serve, I was hitting my spots very well, and I was landing the serve down the T with good consistency. I wasn't getting a lot of free power with this racquet, but I did find it nice and head light, and that helped me generate easy racquet head speed."

With the Prestige Pro 16x19 in her hands, Michelle could swing freely on her big first serves and get plenty of spin when she needed it. She didn't have any issues when pulling the trigger, and she felt confident enough to go for harder pace. She explained, "I have been having some fun with my serves lately and really enjoyed serving with this Prestige Pro. I felt rewarded when going for penetrating flat serves; for me, the targeting was similar to a tighter string pattern, but the power was that of a more open pattern. I found I could hit my spots with no problems. I've been trying to get a bit more arch on my second serves, and this racquet allowed me to accelerate up and get the ball kicking to either side of my opponent."

For Mark, this Prestige was exactly what the doctor ordered. He said, "Serving with this racquet quickly became my favorite shot to hit. My lefty serve wide on the ad side and the body serve on the deuce court were easier to execute than usual."

Returns: 8.3

On returns, the Prestige Pro 16x19 was a seriously lethal option for our playtest team. The control for targeting was there, the mass for power was there, and the two blended harmoniously to create an obedient and efficient stick for returning. Rounding out her playtest, Michelle found great success on returns and enjoyed implementing her more aggressive game right from the get-go. She said, "Returns are the true test for me for whether a racquet is going to work out or not. The Prestige Pro passed the test with flying colors, as expected. It had everything I look for in a solid returning racquet — weight, stability and plow through, with enough maneuverability to throw in some angles. I loved taking big rips at second serves with this racquet. When I used a more compact swing against bigger first serves I could remain offensive and hit a return to get myself in a good position. On serves outside of my strike zone, I could knife my returns deep enough to reset and disengage an aggressive first serve."

This version of the Prestige made it easy for Mark to use his returns to take command of points. He said, "A sturdy and stable scalpel is how I would describe the Prestige Pro 16x19 on serve returns. I did struggle a bit on my return, and ironically, it was not the high and away serve locations that challenged me. Rather it was the hard, flat serve coming in low."

Chris also found the geometry and specifications of the Prestige Pro 16x19 to be highly viable for his preferred style of returning. He said, "The overall specs of the Prestige Pro 16x19 make it a great racquet for me on returns. I found the stability needed on defensive block returns, as well as the maneuverability I needed to accelerate it on aggressive returns. The racquet felt very comfortable at impact with a plush response. I had the sense the ball was pocketing well in the stringbed, and I felt connected to my targets. With the Prestige Pro 16x19 making it so easy to hit with ample amounts of topspin or slice, I felt like my return game had plenty of available options." 

The Prestige offered Troy plenty of control, but he would have liked a little more power, reach and forgiveness. He described, "I felt confident attacking with my forehand return, and I also felt strong about hitting my slice backhand return. That said, I was left wanting a bit more help on my two-handed backhand return. Because I’m used to more forgiveness and power with my Yonex EZONE 98+, I missed the easier depth and that extra reach on my two-hander. I played a lot of doubles with this racquet, and the control and precision really worked well for those returns. I could place my returns accurately, and although I wasn't loving my two-handed returns, I was utilizing the chip backhand lob frequently, which worked well during doubles matches. My slice returns were staying low and I was placing them nicely in the corners, making my opponents move out of their comfort zone."

Breakdown Summary