Dunlop Srixon CX 200 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 82

Great maneuverability and feel were standout traits of the CX 200 from the back of the court. After a few hits, Kristen started to find her groove. She said, "This racquet grew on me the more I hit with it. It's fun to rally with it from the baseline, and I could really crank up the pace when I had time to set up and swing big. I found it to be very stable for its weight class; I had no issues going up against bigger hitters and was able to redirect pace with ease. Going toe to toe with an opponent from the baseline is where this racquet performed best. When I wanted to switch things up and change the pace or go for a drop shot, I was missing a bit of touch and feel for gauging depth. Perhaps that was in part due to the fact that the stringbed played a bit inconsistently. The crosses are spaced wider in the upper hoop, which led to the trajectory of the ball switching up on me, causing a bit of unpredictability at times. Overall though, I really enjoyed the control-oriented nature that allowed me to confidently swing big and go for my targets."

Brittany also needed a bit of an adjustment period before finding a good rhythm on her groundstrokes. She noted, "Right off the bat, I noticed the CX 200 was low powered from the baseline. Having just playtested the Babolat Pure Drive VS, another 98-square-inch head sized racquet with similar specs, the CX 200 left me wanting a little more easy power on my groundstrokes. I had to work hard and focus on my technique to get the ball going the way I wanted it to. When I hit in the sweetspot I was rewarded with a ton of power and depth, but when I hit outside the sweetspot I was getting an inconsistent response, which I believe was due to the string spacing. I thought the spin potential was there, and I was able to brush up and get decent spin, but this often left my groundstrokes landing short. The CX 200 took some time to get used to, and I felt more confident the more I played with it."

Finding similar issues with the stringbed as the others, Tiffani adjusted her swing path to get the most predictable response. She elaborated, "As a fan of the previous CX 2.0, I was looking forward to getting on the court with the CX 200. I was a bit surprised that I needed a solid hour to get used to this racquet. It wasn't the feel or the swing, but rather the response of the stringbed that I struggled with. The trajectory off the stringbed seemed to change depending on where I struck the ball. The center of the stringbed is quite dense for a 16x19, so when I struck the ball there my shots stayed very low and very flat, and I often hit short. When the ball was hitting a little higher in the stringbed I got easier net clearance and more topspin. If I made sure to get under the ball I had more confidence that my shot was not going to drill the tape as a result of hitting a shot that was too flat. Even after adjusting, I would have instances when I would hit a really short, flat ball unexpectedly or just send one flying long. We tested this racquet with both a multifilament and a poly, and I much preferred the poly. The multi-string setup amplified the issues I had with hitting really flat shots. One upshot to this denser pattern in the center was hitting slice shots. Those tended to stay low, skidding just above the net. Compared to the last version, power was easier to generate with the CX 200, and I again liked the feel, but I found a more consistent stringbed from the CX 2.0."

Jason was able to tap into great topspin, but he struggled when opting for slice shots. He said, "This was a very maneuverable racquet! It was so easy to just pick up and use from the start. I was able to effortlessly generate tons of racquet head speed, not only for pace and spin, but also for sharp angles. I was getting slightly more spin on my forehand with this racquet than with my own. The downside with this racquet was the lack of mass. I don't think it had enough heft to help me knife my slices, so they tended to sit up a bit, and it didn't have the put-away power that my current racquet has."

Volleys - Score: 82

Our playtesters found the CX 200 easy to use at the net. Tiffani described, "I didn't seem to have the same issues with the trajectory of my shots at net. I enjoyed a good blend of maneuverability and stability, and although I typically like to keep it simple with my volleys, I felt confident enough in the feel of this racquet to hit some touch volleys."

Kristen didn't require any adjustment period when moving forward. She said, " I was able to find my groove immediately at the net. I loved the precise feel and response. The CX 200 was easy to maneuver, and I felt confident coming into net."

Brittany enjoyed volleying with the Srixon CX 200 once she got a feel for it at the net. She noted, "I was able to dial in my volleys after a short adjustment period. I had easy access to a variety of shots, including reflex volleys and half volleys. I was pretty comfortable up at net and didn't feel like the racquet was getting pushed around. I appreciated the CX 200's responsive feel the most up at net. I didn't have a ton of put-away power, but that wasn't really necessary for volleys."

Jason would have liked a bit more weight behind his volleys. He said, "There was great feel and touch up at net, but the CX 200 definitely needs some weight to help with torsional stability. I wish it were just about 0.2 ounces heavier and five points more head heavy. I loved hitting quick reaction volleys with this racquet because it was whippy and felt like an extension of my arm."

Serves - Score: 79

While the Srixon CX 200 wasn't the most powerful racquet, our playtesters could still tap into its accuracy for some successful serves. Jason said, "I wasn't serving as hard with this CX 200 as I do with my Babolat Pure Strike 16x19, but that didn't mean my serve wasn't effective. I was able to hit with lots of spin and place the ball well, and I was serving with really good consistency because of the low swingweight."

Brittany found ways to compensate for the lack of power. She explained, "For serves, I focused more on placement than power. To generate power I had to put effort into generating racquet head speed, but I got an inconsistent response. I had more success hitting slice serves out wide as my first serve. By aiming at smaller, riskier targets, I was able to compensate for lower-speed serves. I was a little more comfortable hitting second serves because I was able to tap into the spin to hit consistently."

Tiffani also focused on placement to start out points effectively. She said, "Although I wasn't blown away by the performance of this CX 200 on serves, it was more than adequate. I could hit my targets in the service box and mix it up between flat and slice serves. My serve didn't turn into a weapon, but I could start off the point well enough."

Kristen had the most success when flattening out her serves. She said, "I loved the feel at contact on serves. I struggled to load up my serves with a lot of spin, but I was able to generate enough to help get my second serves landing deep. I mainly stuck to flatter first serves and found I could tap into ample pace and get good accuracy."

Returns - Score: 82

It was easy for our playtesters to start points with confidence when returning with the Srixon CX 200. Brittany said, "As with most racquets, I much preferred to return with this CX 200 than serve. The maneuverability was improved, but there were a couple of times when I was late getting the racquet around my body against flatter, faster serves. Nonetheless, when I did get the racquet going I could use the pace to block my return back deep and start the point on offense."

Tiffani had similar opinions when it came to starting out points. She said, "As is almost always the case with any racquet, I preferred starting points with returns. Like at net, I thought this racquet had a good mix of maneuverability and stability. It felt similar to my Prince Textreme Tour 100P (2015) in that regard. When returning, I didn't seem to have as many issues with a changing trajectory off the stringbed as I did on groundstrokes. At least it felt like I wasn't missing shots into the net."

Jason enjoyed switching up his return game to keep his opponent guessing. He said, "Even though I couldn't hit with a ton of power on returns, it was nice to be able to successfully hit with variety. Whether I was chipping, slicing, blocking or taking a cut at a return, the CX 200 felt solid. I love stepping around my backhand and hitting an inside-out forehand return, and this racquet was mobile enough that I could do that with ease."

The easy maneuverability and solid feel on contact allowed Kristen to go for more offensive returns. She concluded, "I enjoyed returning with this CX 200. I definitely had the most success when really swinging out and attacking a serve, but I could also block back serves well. My only issue when defending or catching the ball on a short swing was that the unpredictable trajectory of the stringbed could sneak up on me at times."

Overall - Score: 81