The Complete Guide to Head Pickleball Paddles (UK)
Head pickleball paddles are made by Head Sport, the Austrian racket-sports company founded in 1950 and best known in the UK for tennis racquets — Djokovic and Andy Murray play Head. 16% of UK pickleball players already own a Head, the third-largest installed base after Joola and Selkirk. The range covers five lines: Radical, Attitude, Extreme, Boom and Gravity, from the £49 Attitude Core to the £229 Radical Tour. This guide covers what to buy and why.
- Radical line: £179–£229 UK; 14mm and 16mm; T700 carbon Spin face
- Attitude line: £49–£139 UK; 14mm and 16mm; fibreglass or T300 carbon
- Extreme line: £149–£199 UK; 16mm; textured composite face
- UK distribution: PickleballOne
Who Head are, and why a UK tennis name matters in pickleball
From 1950 Austrian skis to Wimbledon racquets
Head Sport was founded in 1950 by Howard Head in Boulder, Colorado, originally as a ski-manufacturing company; the brand moved into tennis in 1969 and is now headquartered in Kennelbach, Austria. Head is the racquet brand played by Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Sloane Stephens — the heritage UK pickleball players already know. Head Sport entered pickleball in 2017 and now sells five paddle lines worldwide.
Add Head Sport's evolution — Howard Head's 1950 Colorado ski company, the 1969 tennis pivot, the move to Kennelbach in the 1990s, current ATP/WTA roster. Source: S027. End with a transition: "and then in 2017, Head moved into pickleball."
The 2017 pickleball move and what it tells you about the brand
250 words. Head was late to pickleball compared to Selkirk (2014) and Joola (2018 pivot) — but arrived with composite-paddle engineering expertise from tennis. The first Head paddle, the Radical, was named to mirror the tennis line. Head's pickleball strategy: trade on tennis-brand recognition; price aggressively for UK recreational; let specialists win the tour.
Why Head sits where it does in our UK survey
Head pickleball paddles are good — Head is the third-most-owned paddle brand in the UK (16% installed base) thanks largely to brand-recognition transfer from its tennis racquet business, where Djokovic and Andy Murray play Head. Purchase intent is lower at 7%, which tells the story honestly: UK players buy Head first, then often migrate to specialist pickleball brands. Head's strength is value-for-money and UK availability through tennis retailers.
The 9-point gap between installed and intent is that migration." Source: S009.
The Head paddle line-up at a glance
Radical — the tour-grade flagship
The Head Radical Tour is the best Head pickleball paddle for advanced players — 14mm T700 carbon Spin face, elongated 16.5″ × 7.5″ shape, £229 UK. Like the Radical tennis racquet line, it is Head's high-control, high-feel option. For intermediate UK players, the Radical Elite at £179 is the better-value entry, sharing the Spin face but on a 16mm core for a wider sweet spot.
Shop the HEAD range
Every HEAD paddle we ship into the UK — current stock, current prices.
Browse HEADAdd bullet specs: 16.5″ × 7.5″ elongated, 14mm or 16mm, 220–230g, T700 carbon Spin face, £179–£229 UK. Variants: Radical Elite, Radical Pro, Radical Tour, Radical Pro 2024. Link to head radical elite review. Browse head radical.
Attitude — the recreational all-rounder
200 words. 16″ × 7.85″ standard shape, 14mm or 16mm, 215–225g, fibreglass (Core) or T300 carbon (Pro / Suprm), £49–£139 UK. Variants: Attitude Core, Attitude Team, Attitude Pro, Attitude Suprm. Best first Head. Link to head attitude review. Browse head attitude.
Extreme — the spin-and-power crossover
200 words. 16″ × 7.85″ standard, 16mm, 220g, textured composite face, £149–£199 UK. Variants: Extreme Elite, Extreme Pro (2023), Extreme Tour. The Head that ex-tennis bangers gravitate to.
Boom — the elongated power line
150 words. 16.5″ × 7.5″ elongated, 16mm, T300 carbon, £159–£199 UK. Variants: Boom Pro, Boom Tour, Boom Tour EX. Head's answer to the Joola Scorpeus.
Gravity — the control specialist
150 words. 16″ × 7.85″ standard, 16mm, softer polypropylene core, £159–£199 UK. Variants: Gravity Pro, Gravity Tour. Best for control-first dinkers; lowest pop in the Head range.
The Head technology stack
Spin Technology face — the textured carbon construction
200 words. Head's name for its textured T700 carbon weave on the Radical and Extreme lines. Roughly 1,950 rpm on our drive test — measurable spin but a step behind Joola CFS and Selkirk Raw Carbon. USAPA-compliant face roughness (S006 via cluster). Source: S027.
Comfort Channel handle — the tennis-DNA grip
200 words. The contoured handle shape borrowed from the Head Radical tennis racquet line. The single biggest reason ex-tennis players pick up a Head and feel "at home" — the grip geometry matches a Pro Stock tennis grip more closely than any other pickleball brand. Source: S027.
14mm vs 16mm in the Head range
200 words. Within the Head line: 14mm Radical Tour is notably poppier; 16mm is the volume seller. Decision: 16mm under DUPR 3.5, 14mm above. See pickleball paddle thickness.
Head vs Joola vs Selkirk — the side-by-side
On spin
Head paddles generate slightly less spin than Joola Hyperion or Selkirk Vanguard models on our test bench — roughly 1,950 rpm on a Head Radical Elite drive versus 2,200–2,400 rpm on Joola CFS and Selkirk Raw Carbon faces. The gap matters most for spin-heavy intermediate players; recreational dinkers under DUPR 3.5 won't feel it. Where Head wins back ground is feel — the Comfort Channel handle borrowed from the tennis Radical is more familiar to ex-tennis converts than any other brand's grip.
On control
200 words. Twist-weight comparison; Head Radical 16mm is the most forgiving in the brand range; Joola Magnus and Selkirk Vanguard Control still beat it on absolute control. Source: S012.
On UK price and stock
200 words. Head wins on UK price-for-tier at the entry band (Attitude Core £49 vs SLK Halo £79 vs Joola Essentials £79). Joola and Selkirk win at the premium band. Source: own retail data.
On warranty and after-sales
150 words. Head: 12 months across all lines. Joola: 12 months, 24 on Perseus and Magnus 4. Selkirk: lifetime on Vanguard core. Head loses this round on paper but its UK distributor handles claims in 7 working days — the fastest in the category.
Picking the right Head for your level
First Head — the Attitude Core at £49–£79
The best first Head paddle is the Attitude Core at £49–£79 UK — a 14mm or 16mm fibreglass-faced beginner paddle that is the cheapest credible carbon-class brand entry in the UK market. We sell more Attitude Cores to first-time buyers than any other Head line. The Attitude Pro at £119 is the £40 step-up — same shape, T300 carbon face, much better spin. For UK players spending under £80, the Attitude Core wins.
Recreational — the Attitude Pro and Radical Elite
200 words. Attitude Pro (£119) for control-first; Radical Elite (£179) for spin-first. The split most UK recreational players face.
Intermediate to tournament — the Radical Pro and Extreme Pro
200 words. Radical Pro 16 (£199) for all-court tournament; Extreme Pro (£199) for spin bangers who want a wider face.
Advanced — the Radical Tour and Boom Tour EX
150 words. The two tour-grade Heads. Brief — at this level, the choice is between standard-shape control (Radical Tour 16) and elongated power (Boom Tour EX 14).
UK availability, pricing and warranty
What's in stock at PickleballOne this week
Live status section — refreshed weekly. Five lines, current stock per line, lead times. Browse HEAD paddles.
UK vs US pricing — the Head maths
Table — three named paddles, US RRP, UK RRP, the VAT and import-duty maths. Example: Head Radical Tour — $229 US, £229 UK (Head's European distribution flattens the US-vs-UK premium).
Head UK warranty and returns
12-month warranty across lines. UK returns: 14 days, unopened or unused condition. Defects handled by Head Sport European distributor in Vienna; we handle the return logistics. Link to PickleballOne returns policy. Source: S014 (UK consumer baselines).
The five Head questions we get asked most
How to choose your first Head
A simple two-question decision
1) What's your DUPR / skill level? 2) Are you an ex-tennis player or new to racket sports? Funnel: ex-tennis, DUPR 2.5–3.0 → Attitude Pro. Ex-tennis, DUPR 3.0–3.5 → Radical Elite. New to racket sport, DUPR 2.0–2.5 → Attitude Core. New, DUPR 3.0+ → Attitude Suprm. DUPR 3.5+ → Radical Pro.
What to read next
Browse HEAD paddles.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between Head Radical and Head Attitude?
Radical is Head's tour-grade flagship line — T700 carbon Spin face, elongated 16.5″ × 7.5″ shape, £179–£229 UK, engineered for DUPR 3.0+ players. Attitude is Head's recreational line — standard 16″ × 7.85″ shape, fibreglass or T300 carbon face, £49–£139 UK, the best first Head for new UK players. Both share the Comfort Channel handle.
Is Head made in Austria?
Head Sport GmbH is headquartered in Kennelbach, Austria, and that's where tennis racquets and skis are designed and many are made. Pickleball paddles are designed in Austria but manufactured in Head's Asian partner factories under Head Sport QA. UK stock is imported through Head's European distributor in Vienna.
What is the difference between Head's tennis Radical and pickleball Radical?
The pickleball Radical borrows the tennis Radical's design DNA — the Comfort Channel handle geometry, the red-and-black colourway, the 'control with spin' positioning — but is a completely separate engineering programme. The tennis Radical is a 98sq.in racquet; the pickleball Radical is a 16.5″ × 7.5″ paddle. Same family, different game.
What is the cheapest Head pickleball paddle in the UK?
The Head Attitude Core is the cheapest Head sold in the UK, at £49–£79 depending on shape, core thickness and retailer. It uses a fibreglass face on a polypropylene core, with the Comfort Channel handle shared across the Head range. Best first-Head pick for genuine beginners spending under £80.