Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 81

From the baseline, our team put this Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19 to the test with their varied game styles. Michelle was certainly satisfied when it came to control and feel, but she would have liked more weight. She explained, "There were two sides to this playtest for me. I liked how the racquet felt, but I needed more mass from it. I was reminded how much I enjoy the dampening technology Dunlop uses the second I picked up the CX 200 Tour 16x19 and started hitting with it. It was pleasantly comfortable at contact, but it quickly became obvious that the racquet did not pack enough plow through for my game. I had several hitting partners and opponents comment on the lack of power off the racquet, and I was even asked, 'Are you taking it easy on me today?' Although I loved what the racquet could do from the baseline, I was craving a bit more of everything, except for maybe the feel. In stock form, I was not able to hit my opponents back as I often try to do, and I noticed the points were much longer. Aside from that everything was great; the racquet felt explosively fast and had impressive access to spin and good targeting."

Loving the precision, feel and speed of this CX 200 Tour 16x19, Mark said, "It didn’t take long to recall how much I enjoyed the prior version of this racquet from the baseline. This 2021 update feels and plays a lot like the prior iteration, and it worked well with my baseline game. This racquet was fast and easy to swing, which was great for long groundstroke rallies, and I found enough heft to make directional changes of fast incoming shots pretty easy. The spacing of its 16x19 pattern gave me all the access to topspin I need, while still enabling me to maintain low net clearance with my slice backhand. All in all, a great frame for me from the baseline."

Chris found this racquet very maneuverable on groundstrokes, and he was able to generate topspin with ease. He said, "The Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19 offered a plush and comfortable feel on groundstrokes. Compared to the 18x20 version, this racquet offered a high launch off the strings, resulting in a loopier shot and easier depth. The racquet felt very fast and easy to swing, so I could add pace and spin at will. I was able to get my faster paced shots to dip nicely inside the lines, mostly due to all the spin I was getting, but also partly because the low swingweight wasn't pushing the ball too deep. While I might slightly prefer the 18x20 version on slice shots, I was really happy with the spin and feel I got on the ball with this 16x19 stringbed."

Volleys - Score: 84

At net, our playtesters found a lot to like about the CX 200 Tour 16x19. Chris thought it supplied him with a good connection to the ball. He described, "I enjoyed attacking the net with the CX 200 Tour 16x19. The racquet felt very easy to position, which was a big plus on reaction volleys. The head-light balance and low swingweight are noticeable at net, but stronger players should find plenty of room to add weight if they want to beef this racquet up. The feel at contact was very plush, and I had good touch on my drop volleys. The sweetspot felt a tad more generous and more forgiving than the 18x20 version."

Mark felt very confident when coming to the net. He said, "The combination of the head-light balance and strung weight of 11.5 ounces gave my volleys just the right amount of stability and maneuverability. At net, this racquet kept me in command of the ball; I felt like I could place it wherever I wanted. There was also enough pop on the ball that I could find the put-away power if needed."

Although Michelle was craving some added stability and plow through on her groundstrokes, she was pleased with her volleys overall. She said, "I had no complaints at net. Despite craving more weight and plow through at the baseline, the CX 200 Tour 16x19 still felt stable and held up fairly well against big hitters. It was very maneuverable and loaded with touch, which I think was the strength of this racquet. This was my favorite spot to use the CX 200 Tour 16x19, and it challenged me to get up to the net more to finish the point."

Serves - Score: 79

As a lighter player's racquet, the CX 200 Tour 16x19 drew mixed reviews from the team on serve. Unlike his experience on groundstrokes and volleys, when it came to serves, Mark would have liked a bit more of a boost. He explained, "I felt effective and comfortable serving with this Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19. However, while the weight and balance were nearly perfect from the baseline and at net, I would have preferred a little extra weight in the hoop to get a cheap increase in my serve speed."

Knowing that this racquet doesn't have a ton of power on tap, Michelle chose to focus on her precision and placement when serving. She said, "Serves were a similar story to groundstrokes, but the lack of plow through and power didn't bother me as much here. I appreciated the easy targeting and the feel at contact. Because of this, I tried to focus on being specific and intentional with my first serves rather than making them big. It worked just fine for me, but I definitely didn't produce my strongest serves."

Using this racquet's whippy feel to his advantage, Chris found he could get some added spin from the open pattern. He said, "The fast feel of this Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19 made it easy to use on serves. I was able to generate ample pace, but I would have preferred a bit more swingweight from the racquet to get even more juice on my serves. However, the racquet felt very fast in stock form, which made it easy to generate spin. I like the amount of movement I could get on my slice serve; I was able to get it to swing away from the returner’s forehand (righty) or jam it into the body when going slightly to the backhand side or middle of the box."

Returns - Score: 80

All of our playtesters found ways to make their return games effective with the Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19. Initially, Michelle found her timing to be a bit off, but she had a lot more success when she changed up her style and played to the racquet's strengths. She explained, "Often on my returns, I felt like I was getting ahead of the ball because the racquet swung so fast. However, I did feel fairly confident swinging big and dialing up the speed. I could be precise with my targeting, but there just wasn't the same mass I'm accustomed to; my returns didn't hurt my opponents as much as I would have liked. I decided to play to this racquet's strengths, which I thought were the touch and feel (as well as maneuverability), and started having fun changing up my returns and sneaking inside the baseline to take the returns early. I found myself picking a target, hitting the return and rushing the net. I also played around with some touch, and while it's not my strength, I was actually able to execute some drop shots off the return. I shocked myself too, but it is on video, so there's evidence!"

Chris found this racquet to be "go big or go home" when it came to his returns. He said, "Again, the Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19 felt very fast and easy to maneuver. I had fun (and the best results) when taking a good rip at returns. It was easy to find depth, pace and spin on aggressive returns without sacrificing any control. I also preferred knifing the ball with a more aggressive swing on my backhand slice returns. That said, on those returns where I didn't have the time to take an aggressive cut at the ball, I would have liked a tad more weight in the hoop to help with stability and ease of depth."

Similar to his volleys, Mark noted an ideal balance of maneuverability and stability when hitting his returns. He said, "This was another area of my game where the head-light balance and sub-320 swingweight of the 2021 Dunlop CX 200 Tour 16x19 complemented my game. My return of serve is one of my weaker shots, so anytime I get ahold of a racquet that seems to help that shot, I don't want to let go of it. This racquet provided stability against heavier serves and gave my swing style plenty of maneuverability to get through contact on time."

Overall - Score: 81