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HEAD Gravity MP 2021
Tennis Gear, Tennis Rackets

HEAD Gravity MP 2021 review


HEAD’s most recent range of rackets, Gravity, was only launched in 2019 but already the Austrian manufacturer has decided to give it an upgrade to coincide with the signing of exciting young Russian Andrey Rublev. He will now play with the Gravity along with established world stars in Alexander Zverev and Ash Barty. This all added to our anticipation at play testing the new HEAD Gravity MP 2021.

 

Background

The launch of the Gravity range was undoubtedly a big step for HEAD but having the backing of Alexander Zverev from the start was significant so to know be able to add Andrey Rublev to their roster for this racket is another boost.

The distinctive ‘teardrop’ shaped racket head is still there, as is the unique colour scheme but now with different colours on either face. However it does seem that all that has changed is that colour scheme with this new 2021 version.

 

Buy this racket…

To help you feel confident when purchasing this racket we’ve teamed up with a trusted retail partner, AllThingsTennis.co.uk, to make sure you get the best price combined with free premium tennis balls, next day delivery (UK only) and fantastic advice from tennis equipment experts.

To take advantage of all these benefits simply follow this link to purchase the HEAD Gravity MP 2021 with an exclusive 5% Tennishead discount.

 

Technology

All HEAD rackets are made using an element of Graphene in the frames. The material is used in the shaft of the racket ‘for optimized mass distribution which gives better manoeuvrability and more power’ and also in the head of the racket which ‘reduces frame deformation which enables better energy transfer.

HEAD say that ‘the more rounded head of the Gravity delivers a larger sweetspot’ thanks to longer cross strings at the tip of the racket, which is evidently where modern players are more likely to hit thew ball.

A deeper groove in the shoulder of the racket in the Gravity should ‘help to enhance the feel on impact thanks to a softer cross section geometry’ say HEAD.

Finally, the elliptical cross section of the frame’s shoulder is also there to ‘deliver more flexibility on impact and therefore an enhanced feel’ according to HEAD.

So does the reality of playing with this racket match the manufacturer’s claims…

 

Watch as our testers try out the HEAD Gravity MP 2021

 

The play test

None of our play testers had ever played with a HEAD Gravity prior to this session which isn’t often the case when racket testing, so we were intrigued to hear their response.

Our Tennishead play testers for the HEAD Gravity MP 2021 review are:

Will: Sees himself as a ‘counter punching’ style of play, has been into tennis for 16 years and currently hits with the Babolat Pure Drive

Sue: A player who sees herself as a ‘baseline grinder’, has been playing tennis for 30 years and currently uses a Mantis 300 racket.

Austin: Who ‘likes to win the point at the net’, has been playing for 15 years and who’s current racket is a Babolat Pure Drive 2020.

  • Groundstrokes

Will was first to hit with this racket at the back of the court, “I really enjoyed this racket. For me, it was generating easy power and I was timing it quite well, I didn’t find it too difficult to time. It was a good racket. This racket was quite light and allowed me to brush up and accelerate so I got a lot of good spin on this.”

Austin then took over and said, “It was nice from the baseline. I felt like I could hit my backhands really nicely. I was getting a sweet connection when I was finding my shape. On the forehand it was slightly more difficult. I prefer my backhand side to my forehand side so I struggled slightly on the forehand to find my shape and sometimes I hit a few duff shots because it wasn’t particularly forgiving on the forehand side I found.”

Sue then said, “As a baseline grinder, when I initially picked the racket up it felt quite heavy in my hand, but when I started hitting with I was pleasantly surprised. It felt quite clean, quite consistent. I could get a bit of zip on the ball and just generally really good, liked it.”

  • Volleys and smashes

Will headed to the net and commented, “Volleys and smashes were good. Again I was timing it well, this racket allows a bit more leeway on the sweetspot and I was hitting the volleys and smashes well with this one.”

Austin said, “The volleys were really nice actually, I found it really easy to volley. I was finding my spots on the court nicely. Getting a sweet connection and moving my opponent around which is what I like to do.”

Sue then hit some volleys and smashes and said, “They felt nice. It’s not too head heavy so felt like I could manoeuvre it around quite easily and hit volleys and smashes quite comfortably.”

  • Serves

Will was the first to hit serves and he said, “First serves I was hitting it well. I was finding it quite easy to generate power with this one. With the racket speed, acceleration, because its quite a light racket, I was able to generate more power than the other rackets, so I like this one.”

Austin then hit serves and said, “I enjoyed it on the serve. I felt I could hit it quite big if I wanted to. I could also hit the kick serve and second serve quite comfortably. I didn’t have to work too hard to do that, it was quite comfortable on the serve as well.”

Sue said about hitting serves, “Well they all went in so it must be okay! It felt absolutely fine. I didn’t notice it too differently to the racket I play with, so yeah it felt good.”

  • We then asked our testers if the HEAD Gravity MP 2021 suited their style of play?

Will is a counter puncher and he said, “I think this ones perfect for my kind of style. Defending, counter-punching, it’s easy to control. It’s good for the timing of the ball, you’re not trying to generate too much so it does really well.”

Austin like to win the point at the net and he said, “For sure (it suits my style of play). I felt my volleys were super easy to move my opponent around. I could put it where I wanted to, nice and deep. I didn’t have to work too hard on it and I could get into the net quite nicely with my backhand as well so I think it would suit my style of play quite nicely.”

Sue is a baseline grinder and she thought, “Yes definitely (it suits my baseline grinding style). Really comfortable, I would be happy to pick this up and play with it.”

  • Design and style

Austin commented, “I think it looks really nice. Super nice colour scheme, never seen anything like it before, I think it looks pretty futuristic and I really like the look of it actually.”

Whilst Sue agreed, “I really like the colours, but I might get a bit superstitious that there’s one colour on one side and one colour on the other side so I don’t know if I’ll have to decide which way I want it and decide from there!”

Will said, “Yeah its got the two different colour-ways on it. The one green and yellow side, and the other blue and purple is quite cool. Yeah it’s a little bit flashy which is nice.”

  • The final question was on the price. Did our testers feel that $249/£220 is a fair price for the HEAD Gravity MP 2021?

Sue – “I think that’s comparable (in price) to all the other rackets at this level and I would pay that.”

Austin – “I think that’s pretty fair, it’s a really nice racket. Looks good, plays nicely, yeah I’d happily pay that price for this racket.”

Will – “I think it’s a fair price. The model feels good and in comparison to some of the other rackets that are a bit more expensive, this one seems a little bit cheaper which is in a good price range.”

 

The specifications

For a detailed explanation of each racket measurement criteria below have a read of our guide.

HEAD Gravity MP 2021

R.R.P. = $240/£200 (Purchase for £161 at AllThingsTennis.co.uk by following this link)

Head size = 100 sq in

Weight = 295g

String pattern = 16/20

 

In conclusion then..

A strong showing in terms of feedback from our testers, and with all three players having different styles of play it seems the Gravity MP 2021 is a versatile racket for the club player.

The ‘flashy’ design received great feedback and the price wasn’t a problem, so all in all the Gravity should be worth trying out for most amateur club players.

 

Buy this racket…

To help you feel confident when purchasing this racket we’ve teamed up with a trusted retail partner, AllThingsTennis.co.uk, to make sure you get the best price combined with free premium tennis balls, next day delivery (UK only) and fantastic advice from tennis equipment experts.

To take advantage of all these benefits simply follow this link to purchase the HEAD Gravity MP 2021 with an exclusive 5% Tennishead discount.


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.