Novak Djokovic leads the charge of the new 2025 Head Speed Legend tennis racket.
Head
When it came time for Head to introduce its most high-tech tennis racket material to date, the company went straight to a legend, the Novak Djokovic-endorsed Head Speed Legend. Head is updating the frame, releasing the Head Speed Legend 2025 on Aug. 21 with a new look and a fresh mix of brand-new technologies.
“The main goal was to come up a new design that is worthy of the Legend status that Novak has,” Max Bauer, Head global senior project manager for tennis rackets, tells me. “For Speed Legend 2025 we looked into the most premium materials and lacquers, and we also wanted to use the opportunity to introduce our new main technology Hy-Bor.”
The Hy-Bor material, a mix of high-end carbon fibers and boron fibers from American company Specialty Materials, makes its tennis debut for Head. Bauer calls the mixing of the two types of fibers “state-of-the-art.”
The new Head Speed Legend racket includes a fresh take on technology to improve stability.
Head
“While carbon fibers perform best under tension, boron fiber performs best when compressed,” Bauer says. “When a tennis racket bends, there are tensile forces on one side of the frame and compressional forces on the other side of the frame. We strategically positioned Hy-Bor in the shaft area to maximize the perceived stability of our frames. We also optimized each individual carbon fiber layup accordingly to introduce a new and unique solid impact feel.”
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Throughout the process, Bauer says the goal was to create a racket design that makes Djokovic proud when endorsing it while ticking off all the boxes regarding his preferences. “We are in constant exchange with Novak and have a long-lasting relationship with him,” Bauer says. “For the Speed Legend 2025 we considered many of his wishes when it comes to racket design.”
The Head Speed Legend 2025 features a fully black glossy finish, which Djokovic prefers, and includes golden graphic elements. The Djokovic logo is at the bottom of the shaft.
Novak Djokovic with the new Head Speed Legend racket.
Head
While still fully black, Bauer says they integrated micro-forged carbon at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, which is a premium carbon fiber material normally used in luxury cars. The golden details and a Head wordmark join the Djokovic logo and the new Speed typography to complete the aesthetics.
Head has been busy launching new limited-edition rackets this summer. First, in June, they came out with a special Arthur Ashe design dubbed the Legacy Edition Arthur Ashe Competition 2025. Honoring the 50th anniversary of Ashe’s Wimbledon title, the retro cosmetic was inspired by the original model Ashe played with but atop a Head Boom MP.
Then, in late July, Head partnered with Palm Tree Crew for a fresh colorway of the Head Radical. The collaboration racket has been in use by top American male Taylor Fritz and he plans to use the racket through the U.S. Open.
The Head Speed Legend comes in all black.
Head
Head then announced they were embracing all things New York City with a limited-edition Boom Neon racket that launched Aug. 7. The cosmetics of the Neon Boom features New York emblems.
While the three summer releases all offer limited-edition cosmetic designs, the new Head Speed Legend 2025 is an update to Head’s inline mainstay, something Djokovic can get behind both now and in the future.