Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 83

With an open string pattern and quick swing, the Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0 proved spin friendly for our team of testers. After putting the Revo CX 2.0 through a variety of different situations, Brittany concluded that it offered a control-oriented response from the baseline. She described how she adjusted her game slightly to get the maximum benefit from the CX 2.0, saying, "I had to generate my own power, but I was rewarded with a solid shot when I prepped early. This allowed me to really swing out at the ball without worrying about the ball sailing long. While I was surprised at how maneuverable the Srixon Revo CX 2.0 is, I still found myself having to work hard to generate racquet head speed. This caused a bit of fatigue toward the end of matches. I also thought my slice was fairly successful. I was able to keep it low, and slices that typically would have left me on the defensive were leaving me in a more neutral stance."

This racquet elicited a nostalgic response from Chris. He said, "I enjoyed this racquet on groundstrokes. It reminded me of racquets like the old Dunlop MFil 200 Plus and the new Tecnifibre DC TFight 315 Ltd 16x19. It felt light, fast and spin friendly. Although this racquet was all about control, I did find it to be livelier than the Revo CX 2.0 Tour version. The open string pattern offered easier access to depth thanks to a higher launch angle. I had fun whipping this racquet through contact and getting some additional spin on my shots. Both my topspin and slice shots had some nice bite to them. I also really liked moving the ball around the court with this racquet. I didn't have one-shot put-away power with this racquet, but I had lots of fun working the point and exploiting the gaps on the court that I could create. I think with a little added weight there'd be plenty of additional power to be found from the Revo CX 2.0."

"Because the Srixon Revo CX 2.0 is such an easy racquet to swing I was able to generate lots of spin and pace on my shots without much effort," Jason reported. "The spin I was able to put on my shots was up there with my Pure Strike 16x19, but I did notice that the power dropped just a bit comparatively. Really, though, the standout feature was the maneuverability. I could pick up shots hit at my feet without issue, and when I ran around my backhand I could quickly whip the racquet into position to either go inside out or inside in."

Tiffani measured up her similar playtesting experience by saying, "It comes under the Srixon name, but this Revo CX 2.0 reminds me more of a classic Dunlop racquet than any recent offerings. It has a crisp, lively response with good ball feel, which I liked. This racquet felt light and offered easy depth and spin from the open string pattern. I hit with good depth, but I couldn't get the ball to penetrate the court as well as I can with my own racquet, even though my PlaySight data showed a few extra MPHs on my groundstrokes with the CX 2.0. I played well overall with this racquet and found it fit my counterpunching game style well. I did struggle when I needed to generate the power myself rather than feeding off what my opponent was feeding me. I was overhitting in those instances and lost control."

Volleys - Score: 79

The control and feel of the Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0 made volleying a pleasure for our review team. Admitting he would make minor modifications to enhance stability, Jason still handed out compliments for the racquet's performance. He said, "I really liked the feel up at net. I felt very connected to my shots thanks to the boxier beam frame and classic feel. Tiffani and I like to do reaction volley drills to start off our hits, and I felt like I could get the Srixon Revo CX 2.0 to the ball on every shot. There were a few more torsional instability issues than I would've liked on off-center shots, but it would be a non-issue with some tungsten tape."

Jason's reaction volley partner, Tiffani, reported on the major role of the sweetspot at net. She said, "I didn't have too many issues to report at net. The CX 2.0 felt maneuverable, and when I hit the sweetspot I had good control and feel, and enough power on my volleys. However, outside the sweetspot stability dropped, and I struggled with directional control when I missed the center of the stringbed."

Like Jason, Chris said he would most likely opt to modify the Srixon Revo CX 2.0 for extra stability, but he admitted his hands felt quicker than ever. He offered, "Great feel, touch and control made this a fun racquet to use at net. The Revo CX 2.0 also felt very fast to maneuver. The downside to the maneuverable feel was some instability. Against very hard incoming shots I did feel the racquet flutter a little. Again, a little added weight would fix the issue and get this racquet into my ideal spec range."

Experiencing no stability issues and great feel, Brittany's net experience stood out from the rest of the playtesters. She said, "I did have a lot of confidence coming into net because I found a very predictable and responsive feel. The racquet felt solid in my hands, and I didn't experience any twisting on harder hit passing shots. The racquet felt comfortable and plush on a variety of different volleys."

Serves - Score: 81

Our team couldn't come to a consensus on the power level of the Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0 on serves, although most of the playtesters were happy with their results. It was all business during the serve portion of the playtest for Tiffani. She said, "The Revo CX 2.0 got the job done on serves. I found decent pace and good access to spin. While that power and spin are nothing like a Pure Drive would provide, I could get the point started in a decent position. That's about all I can ask for from most racquets when it comes to serves since I'm generally more confident being the returner rather than server."

"I was surprised with my serving power with the Revo CX 2.0," Chris said. "My first serves had good pace, and it felt like I was getting the ball through the court. I was able to generate plenty of spin and enjoyed the grip on the ball I got from the stringbed. The racquet felt comfortable and I liked the feel of a firm co-poly string working in conjunction with the plush response of the frame. It was tough for me to pick a favorite serve with this racquet; they all felt equally good."

Jason's expectations for power were also surpassed. He noted, "For a low 11 oz racquet, I was actually getting some nice pop on my serves. The power and the great access to spin earned me a decent number of free points, which is always a bonus for me. I was able to hit a high percentage of serves in because it was so easy to swing the Srixon Revo CX 2.0 up and through contact."

Brittany's experience was quite the opposite. She explained, "Like with groundstrokes, I found the Revo CX 2.0 to be maneuverable when I was getting it up and over my head to hit serves. However, I had to put out a lot of effort to generate power on my first serve, and it still didn't feel like it was penetrating through the court as much as normal. I found myself hitting a lot of slice first serves to start points. If I were at all tentative on my second serve it would sit up right in my opponent's wheelhouse."

Returns - Score: 83

Our testers took advantage of the Dunlop Srixon Revo CX 2.0's maneuverability to find success on returns. Chris said, "I really enjoyed driving returns with this racquet. The more racquet head speed I added to my shots the better the racquet felt. Thanks to the light and fast response it wasn't too hard to take a good rip at the ball. On my slice returns I would have liked a little more weight in the racquet to keep it stable and help me drive through the ball, but other than that I have no complaints."

Brittany once again struggled to create her own power. She said, "The racquet moved quickly around my body and was stable and solid when I was returning serves. I didn't have a lot of power coming off my return so I relied on redirecting the power from my opponent's serve."

Jason found a good level of power when he opted to take full swings. He noted, "I was getting really good depth and spin on my returns. It wasn't because I was getting a lot of free power, but rather that I was able to take a bigger swing at the ball because of how whippy the racquet felt. Control wise, I felt like as long as I was picking bigger targets I could continue to be aggressive. It didn't have the pinpoint accuracy that other control-oriented racquets have."

Depth and variety were at Tiffani's disposal. She said, "I liked to hit returns with this racquet and felt like I could mix it up with my shot placement. As I mentioned in the groundstrokes section, this racquet handled incoming pace well, which was great for my serve returns. I didn't have to do much work to send the ball back deep into the court, and I had pretty good control, which gave me a bit of confidence to move the ball around."

Overall - Score: 81