Head Extreme Pro 2026 Review
By Andres Jovem · Updated October 19, 2026
The heaviest racket in HEAD's Extreme range: a 370g diamond with a high balance, a reactive Power Foam core and a rough UD carbon face, for the advanced attacker with a swing fast enough to use it.
The verdict
Attack relentlessly: that is HEAD's own brief for the Extreme Pro, and the numbers back it up: 370g, a high balance, and a diamond head. Everything in it is arranged to put mass behind an overhead, and if your swing is quick enough to move that mass, the ball comes down as heavy as anything in our power guide.
The word that matters is relentlessly. This frame rewards the player who attacks every ball and has the shoulder and timing to keep doing it in the third set. The reactive core returns more the faster you swing. It also returns less when you do not. A slow or late arm gets a flat, dead ball and a jolt up the forearm.
It is the heaviest racket in the Extreme family by HEAD's own description, and HEAD builds the lighter Extreme Motion for anyone who wants the attacking shape with less to carry. Buy the Pro only if the weight is the attraction, not the obstacle.
The build
Power Foam, a core that pays by the swing
HEAD's Power Foam does the work in the middle: a reactive foam that amplifies at fast swings, in the shops' words. The faster the face is moving at contact, the more energy the firm foam returns, so a committed overhead leaves with more pace than you put in. The flip side is built into the same sentence: it requires active shot execution. Push the ball and the foam gives you a push back. There is no free rebound to coast on, and at the baseline that shows.
A UD carbon face with Extreme Spin grit
The hitting surface is UD carbon, unidirectional fibers laid for stiffness, so it springs back quickly with little face deformation and a flat strike leaves fast and true. Over it HEAD lays the Extreme Spin finish, a rough 3D texture that grips a brushed ball for the half-second a víbora or bandeja needs to take rotation. Stiff face for pace, rough texture for spin: the two halves of an attacking racket, and neither one is hedged.
A diamond at 370g with the balance high
It weighs 370g with a high balance, and it is the heaviest racket in the Extreme range by HEAD's own description. A diamond mold carries the sweet spot high, up toward the tip, and the balance stacks the mass behind it. That is why the smash feels loaded. The frame carries its own momentum into the ball. The same geometry makes the head slow to bring around when a volley comes at your hip in a hurry, which is the tax every high-balanced diamond charges and this one charges in full.
Auxetic 2.0 and the rest of the frame
HEAD's Auxetic 2.0 sits in the yoke, where the frame meets the handle, and HEAD says it sharpens the feel at impact so you read more precisely how you hit. On a racket this firm that cuts both ways: a flush smash feels electric, a shank feels like a shank. The face is 494 cm² on a 38mm beam, with a hole pattern and frame sections HEAD designs for this mold. There is also a Soft Cap+ handle with a replaceable wrist cord, a small mercy for long sessions.
How it plays
Own it for the smash
Set your feet early on a high ball and the Extreme Pro does the rest. The tip-weighted diamond drops through the ball. The firm foam returns your swing speed with interest. The result kicks off the back glass high and out of reach. Brush up through it and the rough face turns the same ball into a kicked smash that swerves. A player who can set up like that three times a game will not need the rest of this review. The player who sets up late will read every word of the next three beats in the elbow.
At the net, punch early or pay
Take the ball in front and the punch goes through the gap with all 370g behind it. Let it get on top of you and that same 370g is late to turn; the block comes off the firm face wide. This is a net game for the player who meets the ball early by habit, not one who waits to see what happens. The víbora from the left is where the two halves meet. Step in and brush across the ball with the rough face. The weight of the frame sends it low and spinning into the side glass, where nobody volleys it back.
From the baseline, nothing is free
Defense is where the reactive core shows its other face. A ball coming hot off the glass needs pace to activate the foam. A soft defensive block does not supply any. The return comes off dead and short unless your hands do the work. A high balance makes a late lob harder to time, too. If more than half your points start with you defending, this is the wrong frame. A lob that lands a meter short of the back glass is a smash for the other pair, and this racket will hand you a few of those a set until your timing catches up.
The elbow and the shoulder
A firm, head-heavy 370g diamond sends more shock through the elbow and shoulder than anything in our shoulder-pain or tennis-elbow guides. The sharper impact feel HEAD designed into the yoke means you feel every mishit in full. A grooved attacker with a healthy arm will welcome that as feedback. Anyone with a history of elbow trouble should read it as a warning and look at a lighter, softer frame.
Who it's for (and who should skip it)
Buy it if
- You attack every ball, your swing is fast, and you want a diamond with 370g behind the smash
- You meet the ball early at the net by habit and want a punched volley to go through, not back
- You have the shoulder for 370g across a long match and treat a firm contact as information
Look elsewhere if
- More of your points start with you defending than attacking: the reactive core gives a soft block nothing back
- Your elbow or shoulder has a past: this is the heaviest frame in HEAD's Extreme range, and firmer than the Extreme Motion
- You want the Extreme shape but your shoulder is not ready for 370g
Not sure it's your match? The free 2-minute quiz reads your level, style, and budget and tells you which racket is.
The bottom line
If the first thing you looked at was the weight and you smiled, this is your racket; if you winced, the Extreme Motion is the same idea with the volume turned down.
Where to buy
Prices shown in Euro, converted and approximate. You check out in the store's own currency.
Frequently asked
Not for a beginner. The Head Extreme Pro 2026 is a 370g diamond with a high balance and a firm, reactive core, built for advanced to expert players. A beginner will swing it slowly, mishit it harshly, and feel it in the elbow. Learn on a round, soft frame first; this one will still be here.
The Extreme Motion is the same diamond 10 g lighter and softer, for the attacker who wants the shape without the shoulder bill. The Extreme Pro is the heaviest frame in the range, and firmer than the Extreme Motion, so it gives the most pace back to a fast swing and the least to a slow one.
Power. The Head Extreme Pro is built to attack: its core is a Power Foam that returns more energy the faster you swing, under a UD carbon face with the Extreme Spin texture. The control is yours to supply.
From €249.95 at PadelShop for the Head Extreme Pro 2026, reduced from a €279.95 list price there, with PadelPROShop a few euros above it. Two shops in the same band means the price is settled, not a one-day cut.
The Head Extreme Pro runs a Power Foam core, firm and reactive, under a UD carbon face finished with HEAD's Extreme Spin rough 3D texture, on a carbon frame with Auxetic 2.0 in the yoke. It weighs 370g with a high balance, on a 494 cm² face and a 38mm beam.
Yes. The Head Extreme Pro's firm core, stiff UD carbon face, 370g, and high balance all send more of each strike through the elbow and shoulder. The Auxetic 2.0 yoke is designed to pass more of the impact to your hand, not less. If your arm has a history, a softer, lighter frame from our tennis-elbow or shoulder-pain guides will serve you better.
The app · free quiz
Not sure which one's you?
Take the free quiz in the app. We'll match a racket to your game, not the other way around.
Find my racketFree quiz. Sign in with email or Google to get your four picks.
Head Extreme Pro 2026 Review
By Andres Jovem · Updated October 19, 2026
The heaviest racket in HEAD's Extreme range: a 370g diamond with a high balance, a reactive Power Foam core and a rough UD carbon face, for the advanced attacker with a swing fast enough to use it.
The verdict
Attack relentlessly: that is HEAD's own brief for the Extreme Pro, and the numbers back it up: 370g, a high balance, and a diamond head. Everything in it is arranged to put mass behind an overhead, and if your swing is quick enough to move that mass, the ball comes down as heavy as anything in our power guide.
The word that matters is relentlessly. This frame rewards the player who attacks every ball and has the shoulder and timing to keep doing it in the third set. The reactive core returns more the faster you swing. It also returns less when you do not. A slow or late arm gets a flat, dead ball and a jolt up the forearm.
It is the heaviest racket in the Extreme family by HEAD's own description, and HEAD builds the lighter Extreme Motion for anyone who wants the attacking shape with less to carry. Buy the Pro only if the weight is the attraction, not the obstacle.
The build
Power Foam, a core that pays by the swing
HEAD's Power Foam does the work in the middle: a reactive foam that amplifies at fast swings, in the shops' words. The faster the face is moving at contact, the more energy the firm foam returns, so a committed overhead leaves with more pace than you put in. The flip side is built into the same sentence: it requires active shot execution. Push the ball and the foam gives you a push back. There is no free rebound to coast on, and at the baseline that shows.
A UD carbon face with Extreme Spin grit
The hitting surface is UD carbon, unidirectional fibers laid for stiffness, so it springs back quickly with little face deformation and a flat strike leaves fast and true. Over it HEAD lays the Extreme Spin finish, a rough 3D texture that grips a brushed ball for the half-second a víbora or bandeja needs to take rotation. Stiff face for pace, rough texture for spin: the two halves of an attacking racket, and neither one is hedged.
A diamond at 370g with the balance high
It weighs 370g with a high balance, and it is the heaviest racket in the Extreme range by HEAD's own description. A diamond mold carries the sweet spot high, up toward the tip, and the balance stacks the mass behind it. That is why the smash feels loaded. The frame carries its own momentum into the ball. The same geometry makes the head slow to bring around when a volley comes at your hip in a hurry, which is the tax every high-balanced diamond charges and this one charges in full.
Auxetic 2.0 and the rest of the frame
HEAD's Auxetic 2.0 sits in the yoke, where the frame meets the handle, and HEAD says it sharpens the feel at impact so you read more precisely how you hit. On a racket this firm that cuts both ways: a flush smash feels electric, a shank feels like a shank. The face is 494 cm² on a 38mm beam, with a hole pattern and frame sections HEAD designs for this mold. There is also a Soft Cap+ handle with a replaceable wrist cord, a small mercy for long sessions.
How it plays
Own it for the smash
Set your feet early on a high ball and the Extreme Pro does the rest. The tip-weighted diamond drops through the ball. The firm foam returns your swing speed with interest. The result kicks off the back glass high and out of reach. Brush up through it and the rough face turns the same ball into a kicked smash that swerves. A player who can set up like that three times a game will not need the rest of this review. The player who sets up late will read every word of the next three beats in the elbow.
At the net, punch early or pay
Take the ball in front and the punch goes through the gap with all 370g behind it. Let it get on top of you and that same 370g is late to turn; the block comes off the firm face wide. This is a net game for the player who meets the ball early by habit, not one who waits to see what happens. The víbora from the left is where the two halves meet. Step in and brush across the ball with the rough face. The weight of the frame sends it low and spinning into the side glass, where nobody volleys it back.
From the baseline, nothing is free
Defense is where the reactive core shows its other face. A ball coming hot off the glass needs pace to activate the foam. A soft defensive block does not supply any. The return comes off dead and short unless your hands do the work. A high balance makes a late lob harder to time, too. If more than half your points start with you defending, this is the wrong frame. A lob that lands a meter short of the back glass is a smash for the other pair, and this racket will hand you a few of those a set until your timing catches up.
The elbow and the shoulder
A firm, head-heavy 370g diamond sends more shock through the elbow and shoulder than anything in our shoulder-pain or tennis-elbow guides. The sharper impact feel HEAD designed into the yoke means you feel every mishit in full. A grooved attacker with a healthy arm will welcome that as feedback. Anyone with a history of elbow trouble should read it as a warning and look at a lighter, softer frame.
Who it's for (and who should skip it)
Buy it if
- You attack every ball, your swing is fast, and you want a diamond with 370g behind the smash
- You meet the ball early at the net by habit and want a punched volley to go through, not back
- You have the shoulder for 370g across a long match and treat a firm contact as information
Look elsewhere if
- More of your points start with you defending than attacking: the reactive core gives a soft block nothing back
- Your elbow or shoulder has a past: this is the heaviest frame in HEAD's Extreme range, and firmer than the Extreme Motion
- You want the Extreme shape but your shoulder is not ready for 370g
Not sure it's your match? The free 2-minute quiz reads your level, style, and budget and tells you which racket is.
The bottom line
If the first thing you looked at was the weight and you smiled, this is your racket; if you winced, the Extreme Motion is the same idea with the volume turned down.
Where to buy
Prices shown in Euro, converted and approximate. You check out in the store's own currency.
Frequently asked
Not for a beginner. The Head Extreme Pro 2026 is a 370g diamond with a high balance and a firm, reactive core, built for advanced to expert players. A beginner will swing it slowly, mishit it harshly, and feel it in the elbow. Learn on a round, soft frame first; this one will still be here.
The Extreme Motion is the same diamond 10 g lighter and softer, for the attacker who wants the shape without the shoulder bill. The Extreme Pro is the heaviest frame in the range, and firmer than the Extreme Motion, so it gives the most pace back to a fast swing and the least to a slow one.
Power. The Head Extreme Pro is built to attack: its core is a Power Foam that returns more energy the faster you swing, under a UD carbon face with the Extreme Spin texture. The control is yours to supply.
From €249.95 at PadelShop for the Head Extreme Pro 2026, reduced from a €279.95 list price there, with PadelPROShop a few euros above it. Two shops in the same band means the price is settled, not a one-day cut.
The Head Extreme Pro runs a Power Foam core, firm and reactive, under a UD carbon face finished with HEAD's Extreme Spin rough 3D texture, on a carbon frame with Auxetic 2.0 in the yoke. It weighs 370g with a high balance, on a 494 cm² face and a 38mm beam.
Yes. The Head Extreme Pro's firm core, stiff UD carbon face, 370g, and high balance all send more of each strike through the elbow and shoulder. The Auxetic 2.0 yoke is designed to pass more of the impact to your hand, not less. If your arm has a history, a softer, lighter frame from our tennis-elbow or shoulder-pain guides will serve you better.
The app · free quiz
Not sure which one's you?
Take the free quiz in the app. We'll match a racket to your game, not the other way around.
Find my racketFree quiz. Sign in with email or Google to get your four picks.