Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.2

During baseline exchanges, our team was quite impressed by the Extreme MP 2024's spin and power. Our testers enjoyed shaping their shots with depth and pace, and they also aimed to create better and more effective angles. The Extreme MP encouraged Tiffani to go after her shots more intentionally. She explained, "This Extreme MP review came at a time when we were reviewing more controlled racquets, so the easy access to power was refreshing. I did have an adjustment period because, for whatever reason, I was quite aware of the tip of this racquet and was shanking a lot of balls a bit up high off the frame. After an hour of practice, I found a better rhythm — and the stringbed! I enjoyed the feel, along with the easy depth and spin. I was getting noticeably more topspin from this Extreme MP than I get from my own Prince ATS Textreme Tour 100P. I did struggle a bit with some of my slices floating more than I would like, so when I needed to be more defensive I opted for loopier, deep balls to buy myself some time and to take advantage of the easier topspin."

Brittany likewise enjoyed the more aggressive gameplay the Head Extreme MP encouraged on court. She said, "When practicing, I loved rallying and getting in a groove hitting cross court. My favorite aspect of the racquet was its ability to add top and under spin to my shots with ease, allowing me to hit some crazy cross-court angles and defensive slice backhands that added some variety to my groundstrokes. However, once I got into a point, I struggled with the feel, especially toward the tip of the racquet. This caused me to shank way more balls than normal (several times a game), and this lasted throughout the playtest."

Jason was captivated by the spin this racquet enabled for his more topspin-heavy style of play. He said, "This Extreme MP 2024 is a great racquet for players like me who like to play with a lot of spin. I found great access to spin on both my topspin forehand shots and backhand slice. I will say, though, the slight uptick in swingweight had me shanking a bit more than normal. I felt like I was just late on shots because I was expecting the racquet to be a fraction quicker." 

Oak was also struck by how easily the Head Extreme MP produced heavy spin and depth. He described, "On paper, Head's Extreme series racquets should naturally jell with my game style. They have loads of spin, great power access and a 'whipability' factor perhaps only comparable to racquets from Babolat and Tecnifibre, or an EZONE from Yonex. The Extreme MP 2024 just moves. Seriously, though, the acceleration of this racquet is not to be trifled with. This 2024 version of the Extreme MP proved to be much more usable than I thought it would be because the previous versions have left me wanting some additional control. This latest Extreme packs a lot more feel overall compared to what I've seen from the line, and the result is a lot more finesse and touch at my disposal. I did find myself really having to make sure I got my weight transfer going accordingly, otherwise I wasn't getting quite enough shape on the ball. However, if I got my weight transfer going naturally, the results became a lot more tangible."

Volleys: 8.1

Volleys were an area where the Extreme MP 2024 really showed off. Jason felt like he could go after whatever volley he wanted to pull off. He said, "This racquet felt pretty solid up at net. I was still getting great access to spin on my volleys, like I did from the baseline, and there was definitely enough pop to easily put away shots. It felt pretty stable for a racquet that's in the low 11 ounces, even on off-center shots."

For Oak, the Extreme MP's spin factor was worth leaning into at the net. He said, "For me, spin is beyond essential on volleys. My flat volleys do not have much weight or depth behind them, so I rely more heavily on using backspin to carve out the trajectory of my shots at net. Here, the Extreme MP 2024 proved to be a delight, with the maneuverability combining quite nicely with the spin factor. I felt like the pocketing was ample enough to 'hold' the ball if necessary, and the redirecting capabilities were more than sufficient."

The Head Extreme MP enabled simple and effective volleys for Tiffani. She said, "I liked the blend of maneuverability, stability and comfort at net. This racquet performed best for me when I kept my volleys basic, and I could get the volleys deep without too much effort."

Brittany was our only tester who wasn't particularly enthused by the racquet's performance at net. She explained, "While the Extreme MP offers some great characteristics at net, I was never fully confident with it. This is one of the reasons I preferred to play singles over doubles. The positives of volleying with the Extreme MP included ease of getting into position and access to spin. I also thought the racquet was relatively stable. However, I struggled with feel and timing. I ended up keeping it simple with deep punches to big targets and not trying to do anything extra with my shots." 

Serves: 8.5

When it came to starting points, the Extreme MP 2024 quickly won over our team. All of our playtesters enjoyed how the racquet handled above the shoulder, and they found ample success when going after their favorite serves. Jason appreciated how the spin naturally complemented his serving style. He said, "I really enjoyed this racquet on my serve. I like to hit with a lot of spin, rather than flatter, harder shots, and it enhanced my serves. I thought I was still getting pretty decent pop on my serves, so it was a nice blend of power and spin." 

For Tiffani, the serve was a standout area of this playtest. She said, "Serves were my favorite shot to hit with this Extreme MP 2024. I noticed the zippiness off the stringbed the first time I hit with it. I was getting easy pace without any effort. I could hit deep into the service box with a relaxed swing, and I could also swing my slice serve out wide on the deuce side."

Brittany was also seriously impressed with the Extreme MP’s capabilities on serve. She said, "I was shocked to find that I preferred to serve over return with the Extreme MP 2024. This is one of the few racquets where that is the case. In fact, the serve was my favorite shot to hit. Specifically on my first serve, I was able to hit with pace and depth with little effort, and I could do it consistently throughout a match without any fatigue. This translated to free points because my opponents struggled to get their returns back, which I will always welcome. I didn't have to hit as many second serves as I normally do because I was making so many first serves, and that was a huge bonus. When I did have to hit a second serve, I had plenty of spin to clear the net. Not only was I consistently making second serves with confidence, but my opponent wasn’t able to attack them." 

Oak was enjoying his natural service motion with the Extreme MP 2024. He explained, "Serving with this racquet was very satisfying. Despite being the most important shot in tennis, the serve is one of the aspects of my game I tend to struggle with, but the Extreme MP had my back when it was my turn to start a point. I particularly enjoyed going for aggressive kick and topspin serves."

Returns: 8.0

Our playtesters were surprised by the Extreme MP 2024’s capability on returns, though they had to be aware of the power to keep from hitting the ball long. It took Brittany some time to dial it in, but she eventually found success by toning down her aggressive ground game. She described, "I did have an adjustment period when it came to returns. At first, I found that I was overhitting my returns and had to rein them back in. I was much more conservative with my targets and put extra effort into adding spin. As the playtest wore on, I got more confident with the feel and started to get into a groove on my return, which is typically one of my favorite shots, and I was able to go after it a little more." 

For Jason, the Extreme MP handled quite impressively on returns, but he too had to be mindful of the powerful nature of the frame. He said, "I liked being aggressive with this racquet, but I could get into trouble by overhitting returns. The ease with which I could get depth on my shots was a double-edged sword. It was great when it went in because I was able to push my opponents back, but I was also missing long more often." 

Tiffani noticed that the Extreme MP's power could cause things to go off the rails. She explained, "I did sometimes feel a bit wild on this shot. It could be tempting to be a bit too ambitious with my shot selection. I liked the easy pace, but I didn't find this racquet to be precision oriented, so picking larger targets was key. It did offer a good blend of stability and maneuverability, which let me block back hard-hit serves or swing bigger on slower serves."

The Extreme MP helped add easy depth to Oak's returns, and he liked how the frame could pocket the ball. He said, "When redirecting the serve's pace, the Extreme MP 2024 was fairly easy to work with. However, I would've enjoyed a tad more mass to temper the ball back down and through the court on higher-pace balls. This racquet was never going to be a super precision-oriented experience, so going for more aggressive returns actually proved to be a pretty good option for me." 

Breakdown Summary