Dunlop FX 500 Racquet Review

Groundstrokes - Score: 84

With easy access to power and spin, the Dunlop FX 500 required little adjustment from the playtesters. Chris found the FX 500 both fun and easy to use from the baseline. He started the playtest on a positive note, saying, "I thought the sweetspot felt huge, the racquet felt fast and maneuverable, and power was easy to generate. The string pattern both looked and felt open, with a lively response and excellent access to spin. With such a light swingweight, it was easy to cut under the ball or brush up the back to generate lots of spin, and I liked the overall feel and response of the racquet. I partly tested the FX 500 hitting normally and then finished the test hitting lefty due to an injury. I liked the racquet playing both ways, and it was a good test of the racquet's versatility."

"I am always excited to try out a new racquet with specs in my wheelhouse, and the FX 500 is positioned perfectly so," added Brittany. "I had no issues adjusting to the FX 500, and I was able to immediately go into an intense practice session and point play with confidence. On the baseline, I really appreciated the easy power and depth the FX 500 offered off both wings. I was able to tap into the spin potential and successfully hit two of my favorite shots — the short angled forehand and backhand — to take me from a neutral to an offensive position. The racquet had a nice feel to it, and I appreciated it when I was on the defensive and reaching for the ball. I was able to produce a nice, deep groundstroke to keep me in the point."

Tiffani had to make some adjustments to get fully dialed in. She said, "This FX 500 delivered easy depth. It's one of those racquets that is just easy to pick up and use. However, it has a much more open string pattern than my own racquet, so it took me a while to gauge my depth. I liked this racquet best when rallying, and I found I could get a little overambitious with my shot selection during point play, going for too small a target with too much pace. It enticed me to go for more than I should. When hitting a good rally ball, the FX 500 offered easy topspin, but my slice shots tended to sit up a bit too much rather than skidding low off the court. Overall, this racquet was user friendly off the ground, and it felt pretty stable and powerful."

While Jason saw the benefits of easy power and spin, he was left wanting a little more control. He said, "The FX 500 felt solid from the ground. I was able to get really nice pop off my topspin shots, and the access to spin was great. I found the racquet to be quite maneuverable, making it easy to hit shots on the run. I struggled slightly when trying to really swing out and put a ball away. That's where I found the stringbed to be slightly erratic, and balls would sail on me."

Volleys - Score: 83

Our playtesters were impressed with the FX 500's solid feel at net. Brittany found that this racquet's stable response suited her game. She said, "From the very first time hitting volleys, the racquet never felt like it was getting pushed around, even on hard-hit passing shots or when I was reaching. I preferred to punch my volleys deep in the court to end points and wasn't as successful with touch volleys. However, those aren't really my game anyway, so it didn't bother me. I was even able to execute some quick reflex volley exchanges since the racquet felt very maneuverable in my hands."

Jason agreed, adding, "I really enjoyed the racquet up at net. It felt solid and held up stability-wise to hard-hit shots. The whippy response made it easy to hit overheads."

"I found much better than expected touch at net," said Chris. "Drop volleys were easy to gauge. I liked the grip I was getting on the ball from the stringbed when cutting under my shot to add slice. On flatter volleys, the racquet felt precise and crisp. It was easy to punch volleys to my targets, and I was happy with the pace I could generate. I was very impressed with how solid the racquet felt considering its light weight and its maneuverable head-light balance."

Tiffani appreciated the way the FX 500's power, stability and maneuverability came together on her volleys. She said, "This racquet felt good at net. I most enjoyed the quick feel and easy put-away power when punching the ball deep. The feel was crisp and firm, and I didn't notice many issues with stability. I have few complaints."

Serves - Score: 84

The Dunlop FX 500 delivered the same easy power and spin on serves as it did on groundstrokes. In fact, serving was a standout area for Tiffani. She described, "It's not often that a racquet helps me in this department, but I thought this FX 500 gave me a boost in power on my serves without any added effort on my part. I don't think my spin serves had tons of extra movement on them, but I still liked the easy power and lightweight feel overhead."

Serving with the FX 500 brought back some memories of older racquets for Chris. He said, "I was reminded of my old Tecnifibre TFlash 300 Power Stab when serving with the FX 500. Like my old racquet, this one came around quickly, making it easy to cut the ball for spin. I found the response lively and was very happy with the pace I was generating. I liked the feel at impact, and it had a nice blend of being crisp and comfortable."

Jason enjoyed the extra pace he was getting on his serve. He said, "The FX 500 was easy to swing, which meant it was easy to generate power and spin. I was getting more pop on my serves with this racquet than with my own, which was nice."

"Just like with groundstrokes, the name of the game for serves was easy power and spin," added Brittany. "I was able to get the racquet up and over my head with ease and generate plenty of racquet head speed. This translated into easy power on first serves, with the ball landing deep in the service box. Second serves were a similar story, and with just an added flick of the wrist, I could achieve an effective kick second serve that I could hit consistently over the course of a match."

Returns - Score: 83

The FX 500's maneuverability and solid feel made it shine on returns. Jason found improved consistency when hitting returns compared to groundstrokes. He said, "The combination of maneuverability and great access to spin made this racquet a solid weapon on returns. Because I was using the pace of the serve more, I didn't feel like I needed to swing as big and therefore didn't experience the erratic response as much as I did on my groundstrokes."

"Nine times out of 10 I'm going to say I prefer returning over serving with any particular racquet, and the FX 500 fell right in line," continued Tiffani. "It was quick to swing, so it gave me the confidence to swing out on both first and second serves. I didn't necessarily find pinpoint accuracy, but I could aim for large targets or go straight back at the server to try to steal some time and set myself up in a more offensive position."

Brittany thought the racquet continued to excel when it came to returns. She said, "I feel like everything I have already said applies to returns. I liked the maneuverability and the easy depth on my returns. When I was returning first serve returns I made sure to add a little extra spin so I wasn't overhitting. On second serves, I could take a big cut at the ball and start the point on the offensive. Nothing much to dislike on returns!"

The FX 500 helped Chris start points aggressively on his return. He wrapped up the playtest by saying, "I liked taking returns early with the FX 500. The racquet felt fast and easy to position. There was ample power to drive returns with pace, and I continued to be impressed by the solid response the FX 500 offered. Getting spin came naturally since I found it easy to whip the racquet around."

Overall - Score: 83