Tester
Player name: Stephan Couzijn Level: 5/6 Type of player: 44 year old, all courter, eastern grip, one-handed backhand, fairly flat strokes Own racket: Yonex EZONE DR 98 , Wilson Clash 100 , Head Graphene 360+ Gravity MP Player's racket history: Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 95, Wilson Six-One 95, Head Radical, Dunlop Airgel 300 Tour, Babolat Pure Storm Tour GT, Wilson Pro Staff 95, Wilson Juice Pro, Yonex EZONE DR 98, Wilson Clash 100, Head Gravity MP, Wilson Pro Staff 97 CV. The Dunlop FX 500 is now available in our webshop , including free stringing of your choice!Intro and specifications Dunlop FX 500
It has been a while since I had the opportunity to test a Dunlop racket. The last time it was pure enjoyment with the CX 200 tour. Pure quality expressed in a beautiful control frame. However, this FX series is mainly focused on power. Normally not a frame I would easily go for. Right now I'm playing with a Wilson Pro Staff 97 CV. I am very curious how this Dunlop FX 500 compares to the other power frames in this genre such as the Babolat Pure Drive 2021 and the Wilson Ultra 100 V3.0 . The specifications look like this:
Brand: Dunlop Model: FX 500 Leaf size: 100 sq/inch Weight: 300 gr Balance: 32.0 cm Stringing pattern: 16×19 Length: 27 inches RA: 71 Swingweight: 314 Stringing: Dunlop Explosive Speed 1.25 on 24/23 kg
Racket review
Many (older) tennis players know Dunlop from the famous Dunlop Max 200G and know that Dunlop has made beautiful frames over the years. The younger players mainly grew up with Babolat and Wilson. Not surprising, of course, when you consider that Nadal and Federer have been appearing in front of the cameras with these frames for years. Still, I think Dunlop Srixon deserves to refresh faded memories and adjust preconceived opinions about Dunlop tennis rackets, as the (now Japanese) manufacturer has released a flood of new racket ranges endorsed by renowned names such as Patrick Mouratoglou. Of course, that doesn't say everything. The “proof of the pudding is in the eating”. In short, try it out and experience it for yourself. First came the CX 'control focused' range, then the SX range that focused on spin and now the FX range that aims to deliver 'controlled power' (the 'F' in 'FX' stands for 'force').
Baseline
After the first exchange of strokes it is clear that Dunlop is making a bid for the crown of the Babolat Pure drives with the FX 500. I felt that this racket has a great balance between spin and power and both are manageable. This means that the claimed “controlled power” appears to be absolutely true. It felt very easy to hit deep against the back line from the baseline. I do notice that, just like with all other power frames, you also have to be careful with the Dunlop FX 500 that you don't go off track. A little more spin helps keep the balls within the lines. Furthermore, the FX 500 feels remarkably solid from the baseline. Slice balls also come off the tray very well. I think that the Dunlop FX 500 is certainly a formidable competitor for the Babolat Pure Drive from the baseline. I do recommend that players who quickly suffer from tennis elbow use a slightly softer string. By the way, I hardly notice any vibrations in the frame upon impact. I can play this racket without a dampener.
Volleys
It was easy to fill the net with the FX 500; the relatively light weight made it not difficult to maneuver the racket quickly. The racket feels solid, which allowed me to hit and put away the volleys well. You feel the “Force” of this racket during smashes. The balls exploded. To be honest, the fulling went better than expected. My expectation of a power frame is that it is more unstable than my own Wilson Pro Staff 97 CV, but that was not too bad. An absolute plus of the Dunlop FX 500.
To serve
As expected, serving was very easy with the Dunlop FX 500. Even when I wasn't trying to hit the balls that hard, I felt I was getting enough power from the racket to hit the corners. Similar to the baseline strokes, I had more than enough controlled power with the serve. I felt that even if I didn't hit the ball completely in the middle, I could still produce a good serve and lose little power.
Dunlop FX 500: bottom line
While it may not be the most exciting racket to look at, immediately after the first exchange of strokes I was pleasantly surprised and even a little shocked at how much I could enjoy a power frame. Especially because I always tend towards more control-oriented rackets. Dunlop has clearly put a lot of effort into creating that nice power feeling. The racket gives you a wonderful dose of power to hand out winners. I think this FX 500 will especially impress players who usually play with other power frames such as the Babolat Pure Drive, Wilson Ultra 100 V3.0 or Diadem Nova FS 100 . The Dunlop FX 500 really feels very stable and is virtually vibration-free. This also means that the stiffness of the frame is much less of a problem. Apart from all the techno mambo jambo, the confidence that this racket gives with all shots from both the back and the net was striking. Therefore a “must” demo for players who are looking for an easy frame with more than enough power that is easily controllable.
The Dunlop FX 500 is now available in our webshop , including free stringing of your choice! You can also request this racket from us as a demo .