Head Radical MP 2025

What it is

Third set, mid-court forehand sitting up — you take a full cut and the ball leaves with shape and depth you can still aim, not a Pure Drive trampoline and not a boardy Prestige brick. That’s the Radical MP 2025 in one picture: Head’s versatile player’s midplus for people who mix pace, spin, and direction instead of living on one shot.

Current US retail Radical midplus (SKU 231015): 98 sq in, 300 g unstrung, open-ish 16×19 with tightly spaced mains, variable 20/23/21 mm beam, Auxetic 2.0 + Graphene Inside + Sound Grommets. Solar Orange cosmetic. Sold unstrung; Tennis Warehouse streets at $219 (often listed under a higher MSRP). Not Radical Pro (heavier), not Tour (18×20 TW exclusive), not Team/MP L — MP is the club Radical most demos mean.

Who it’s for

Serious recreational and club players (roughly 3.5–4.5) with medium-to-full swings who want a control-leaning all-court 98: baseline redirection, slice you can trust, returns that hold the line, and enough maneuverability to finish at net. Strong compare partner if you’re already demoing Blade 98, Speed MP, or Percept 97 and want Head’s classic “hit every shot” Radical recipe.

Skip it if you need free Pure Drive / Aero depth, if you’re still finding clean contact on a 98, or if you want maximum plush flex — that’s Gravity MP / Clash territory. TW playtesters were clear: you supply most of the pace; this frame rewards swinging out, not blocking.

Standout details

• Specs that matter (TW lab): 98 in² · 300 g unstrung / 11.2 oz (318 g) strung · 4 pts HL · SW 323 · RA 66 · 16×19 · 48–57 lbs (opt. 53) · beam 20/23/21 mm · Hydrosorb Pro grip · Orange
• Auxetic 2.0 (2025 update): yoke/handle layup Head pitches for real-time feedback; TW’s May 2025 review called out more ball feel and a slightly softer response vs the prior couple of gens without dumping the Radical formula
• Variable beam: thinner in the shaft and tip for feel; thicker through the mid-hoop for stability — TW’s long-running Radical story, still the geometry
• Control-leaning 16×19: open enough for spin and launch, mains dense enough that TW describes it as leaning control so you can swing bigger
• Sub-325 swingweight: fast enough for aggressive all-court play with decent stability against pace (TW product copy)
• Tradeoffs: power is Low–Medium — flat put-aways and big first serves take work; sweetspot plays smaller/more 97-like than a 100; RA 66 is medium firm (arm-friendlier than older boardy Radicals per TW feel notes, not Clash soft); string choice matters

Who’s hitting it

HEAD markets the Radical series as endorsed by Taylor Fritz, Nuno Borges, Matteo Arnaldi, and Zhizhen Zhang. Tennis Warehouse’s athlete row on this MP page highlights Fritz and Arnaldi. Andre Agassi made the line famous in the ’90s — heritage, not a current tour endorsement.

Retail ≠ tour setup. Independent gear reporting widely has Fritz on a customized older IG Radical MP pro-stock mold (often cited as TGT 260.3) under current Radical paint — denser pattern / different beam story than this stock 16×19 MP. HEAD states pro players may use different rackets from the model shown. You’re buying the stock 300 g / 16×19 / RA ~66 MP club players should demo — the versatile Radical midplus, not Fritz’s match stick.

Honest verdict

If Court List already covers Pure Drive (easy power), Blade 98 / Percept 97 (control 98s), Speed MP (Head’s firmer modern midplus), Gravity MP (soft unique feel), and Pure Aero / VCORE (spin), Radical MP fills the classic all-court control-feel compare slot. Demo this when you want to swing out, mix flat and spin, and keep the ball honest without buying a one-category trampoline. It’s not free power and it’s not a spin freak — for serious recreational players who want Head’s do-everything 98 at a strong street price in 2026, this is the Radical worth putting in the bag.

Updated 2026-09-18