Dunlop FX 500 Tour Racquet Review

Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.6

The Dunlop FX 500 Tour proved formidable during baseline exchanges. For our more power-based players, the racquet enhanced one of their strongest weapons. For our craftier and more finesse-oriented testers, the racquet's power access upped their ability to drive the ball through the court when they wanted to. Munish enjoyed hitting from the baseline. He explained, "I really liked the FX 500 Tour on my groundstrokes. I was able to hit all my favorite shots and angles, but with a lot more power and spin. I did struggle with shots that required a bit more finesse and feel, like my drop shot, due to the power level of this racquet. I overhit some of them, which made the ball sit up a bit higher, and my opponents were quick to take advantage of it. The maneuverability of the FX 500 Tour was just perfect for my game, and I was able to add a lot of racquet head speed and get tons of net clearance and depth on my shots, but I could also flatten out my stroke and really drive through the ball."

Mark had a few issues with the FX 500 Tour while rallying but found versatility to be the defining trait for his playtest. He said, "As with the prior model, the latest update to the Dunlop FX 500 Tour was a blast to swing from the baseline. It was easy to get the FX 500 Tour around my body and through the ball, which produced good depth. The weight and balance of the FX 500 Tour delivered a fast feel, yet the racquet was just hefty enough for me to hit effectively down the line off of a cross-court ball and vice versa. Another versatile aspect was the spacing of the 16x19 pattern. It was tight enough to complement my backhand slice yet wide enough to produce a safe launch angle and topspin without having to modify my swing. And to my slight surprise, the backhand slice was my favorite groundstroke shot to hit with the FX 500 Tour."

Packing more pop and spin than anticipated, the FX 500 Tour's baseline capabilities took Troy by surprise. He said, "For a 98-square-inch head size, I was surprised at how much power and spin this racquet supplied. It wasn't necessarily a huge surprise, since I have tried previous versions of the FX racquets. That said, there was a noticeable increase in the plow through and the feel on contact was a bit more solid compared to the previous version. The string spacing allowed for easy grip on the ball, so I found plenty of spin and an easy launch angle on my groundies. I also found pretty good control when I flattened my shots, all things considered. I had more control and feel with the Dunlop CX 200 on flat shots and slice backhands, but I felt more connected to the ball with this racquet than I did with the SX 300 Tour."

Oak ended up being impressed with the FX 500 Tour's performance, even as he worked out the kinks on a newer groundstroke. He said, "The Dunlop FX 500 Tour playtest was surprisingly great for me. This is the first playtest where I'm trying out a two-handed forehand, and this was a great racquet to learn and experiment with. I loved how solid and stable this racquet felt off both wings, and I felt like the power-to-control ratio was nearly perfect. I could easily trust the 98-square-inch head size for effective spot-targeting, and the FX 500 Tour would help me out if I needed some additional power. There was a surprising amount of spin considering it’s a more power-based frame, and I liked how I could shape topspin drives or slices with ease. Slices in particular tended to have some nasty sideways motion to them. Maneuverability was also right up to scratch, and I never once felt too late to the ball. Although I'm still getting adjusted to my new-look ground game, I was delighted with the FX 500 Tour. It's just a great frame for a baseliner.”

Volleys: 8.3

The FX 500 Tour proved to be a little more divisive on volleys, but most of our team found success with this racquet. Oak reported excellent touch and feel on his volleys, which encouraged him to attack the net more than usual. He said, "The FX 500 Tour's feel on volleys was superb. There was great touch and handling capability, and I loved how the racquet would cut through the air with authority, letting me pull off volleys with ease. It was great for simple touch volleys, and I got so much mileage from just sticking the racquet out and letting the frame do the work. The feel was solid, stable and surprisingly cushioned. I really liked going for drop volleys and more angled shots with this FX 500 Tour."

Likewise, Troy had a consistently dependable experience at net, noting the FX 500 Tour's firm yet cushioned feel. He explained, "I found this FX 500 Tour firm and fast on my volleys. The maneuverability was pretty good for me since I usually play with heavier racquets. I felt like I could get this racquet into position easily and react quickly to incoming shots. There was a nice, firm feel on my volleys; I wouldn't necessarily say it was crisp, but it felt firm and somewhat dampened. I also wouldn't say there was a ton of touch and feel, although I still found enough built-in precision to feel confident in my volley placement."

Munish found his volleys with the FX 500 Tour lacking some feel and touch. He said, "Volleys are another shot that require a bit of finesse and feel, and I found that some of my shots were going through the court and were reachable by my opponent. It took a while for me to get used to the power level, but once I did I was hitting my angles and finishing off the points."

Mark, however, had a seamless transition from the baseline to the net. He said, “Those specs that complemented my groundstrokes had the same effect at net. Although I am used to a higher swingweight, the near-320 inertia number of the FX 500 Tour caused me to rethink what spec combination works best for me. It had enough mass to hit penetrating volleys and remained stable against all but the hardest of passing shots, which also made it easy to execute good half volleys in or outside of the service court."

Serves: 8.8

On serve, the FX 500 Tour made fast friends with all of our testers, earning high marks across the board. Mark found excellent shape and motion on his serves, and he loved how the geometry of the frame complemented his natural service motion. He said, "It did not take much time for me to feel comfortable serving with the latest FX 500 Tour. The 11.4-ounce strung weight was definitely in my wheelhouse, and the wider square-shaped spacing of its 16x19 pattern helped me get more movement and RPMs on both my first and second serve. With the FX 500 Tour in hand, my most effective serves were landing toward my opponent’s body on either service court and out wide on the ad side."

"I hit some of my best serves with the FX 500 Tour," Munish added. "I didn't have to do much besides adding spin and direction, as the racquet took care of the rest. I particularly loved hitting flat serves on the T from both sides. Second serves were a bit tricky, and I had to be more intentional and aggressive when it came to adding spin, because my balls were flying out. I still have yet to figure out my second serve with the FX 500 Tour, but I have been fortunate and consistent enough not to need my second serve as much with this racquet."

Oak also had a great experience serving with this FX 500 Tour, noting above-average action on the ball that let him be extra creative with his placement. He described, "Though I wasn't topping out in terms of pace, I was getting incredibly good action on the ball when serving. I found great spin, good sound and excellent feel on contact, which was my favorite part of the serving experience because it boosted my confidence in the shot over time. I liked going out wide on the deuce side and opting for heavy pace up the T on the ad side."

Troy was able to capitalize on the FX 500 Tour's speed and precision while serving, prompting him to go for both aggressive targets and spin. He explained, "When it came to serves, this FX 500 Tour felt maneuverable and made it easy for me to generate power and spin. My favorite serves to hit with this racquet were kick and slice serves because I felt like I was getting a lot of speed and heavy spin on the ball. That said, I felt confident when going for my hard flat serve because this racquet gave me some nice pop on the ball, and the placement was pretty good as well."

Returns: 8.1

This is one category where our playtesters found it harder to adjust to the FX 500 Tour. Nonetheless, our testers found a way to make the racquet work for their preferred styles of returning. The maneuverability proved extremely practical for Troy, but he noted a lack of mass and plow through. He described, "I liked the FX 500 Tour's maneuverability and its blend of power and control on returns. This racquet felt fast when I was hitting my forehand returns, and I was able to hit deep returns with good pace and heavy spin. I felt like this FX 500 Tour lacked a bit of plow through when I was facing big-hitting servers, and it seemed like my returns were landing short on my two-handed and slice backhand returns. I think having a bit more mass, like an additional 10 grams or so, would help with the depth on my backhand. In theory, if this racquet had an extra half inch, like the Yonex EZONE 98+ or Solinco Whiteout 305 XTD v2 Camo, it would be a better option for my backhand returns."

Oak had some issues when slicing or blocking his returns with the FX 500 Tour, but he enjoyed the racquet's power and control when fully swinging through. He said, "Returns with this FX 500 Tour were also quite satisfactory. This racquet felt precise enough to go after smaller targets and powerful enough to confidently hit through them. I sometimes struggled to keep the ball low and penetrating when blocking or chipping a return back, and it felt like my opponents were able to tee off on those shots more easily. The FX 500 Tour seemed to do better against first serves, but maybe I was just trying to do too much on seconds."

Munish's returns tended to sit up a little too much for his liking at times, but he appreciated the easy depth. He explained, “Returning serves was a bit of a struggle at first, especially the faster ones. Substantial racquet head speed was needed to get my shots in because they were floating out a lot, but on the flip side, my returns eventually started landing super deep with tons of spin. Even though my intention wasn't to be hitting aggressive spin-heavy returns, the outcome was welcomed. Redirecting faster serves was a bit difficult due to the power of the racquet, but I was able to step in on second serves, take the ball early and get the upper hand on points right from the get-go."

With the FX 500 Tour in his hands, Mark leaned into his topspin tendencies and opted for shaping his returns with more spin to get results, which the racquet happily obliged. He said, "Overall, the new Dunlop FX 500 Tour felt very solid on my return. Maybe I’m just now turning the corner on hitting more topspin returns than slice, but I was more confident and consistent than ever applying topspin to my returns. Unless a serve was blasted at me, directional control was also really good with this update to the FX 500 Tour."

Breakdown Summary