Andy Murray has endorsed the HEAD Radical series for a long time. But he is actually playing something called PT57A2.
Andy Murray has advertised the Head Radical series for many years, sort of as the successor to André Agassi. Little do most people know that he actually plays with a 20-year-old racquet in a different string pattern, namely the legendary Head Pro Tour 630 made popular by Thomas Muster and Gustavo Kuerten. I did play with the Head Pro Tour 630 myself for a while, but wanted a 16×19 string pattern and finding a so-called pro stock racquet of Murray’s mold is close to impossible and very expensive.
Andy Murray’s Racquet Specs
Here are the specs of Andy Murray’s tennis racquet:
Specifications ANDY MURRAY PT57A PRO STOCK Head size: 95 sq. in. / 613 sq. cm. Length: 27 in. / 68.6 cm. Strung weight: 12.4 oz. / 353 gr. Strung balance: 332 mm Stiffness: 58 Grip size: L3 (4 3/8) Grip type: Karakal PU Super Grip + Overgrip String pattern: 16 Mains / 19 Crosses Silicone: Yes Lead: Yes Pro stock code: Head PT57A Pro stock code printed in throat: No Pro player name printed in throat: Yes Sticker player code in throat: Yes
The Head Pro Tour 630 (280 is the name of the US release of this racquet) has been hailed as one of the best racquets ever made by racquet experts/fans and is still played by quite a few players on the ATP world tour. Such as Murray, Simon, Cuevas, Haas and quite a few more. In pro stock tennis racquet lingo it’s called a PT57A.
Is the PT 630 or PT57A really as good as they say? Well, if you’re looking for an arm-friendly and great feeling racquet with an emphasis of control over power and spin – look no further. Most of the modern racquet technologies cannot really stand up to this beautiful blend of Twaron and graphite. It’s old school but still up to scratch (and in many cases beyond) with all the marketing hype of today’s current sticks.
Will it change your game immeasurably to the better? Nah, no racquet will do that. But it might save your elbow and wrist from a stiff thick-beamed Babolat or Wilson racquet and that’s worth a lot, right?
So if you have the chance to playtest a Head Pro Tour 630 or Head PT57A – do it, it might not make your game any better (practice is the best way to do that), but it sure is a nice and very comfortable ride. If you’re interested in other advice around buying a tennis racquet, check out the links and posts below.