Dunlop FX 500 Racket Review

Hitting groundies with this racket was a lot easier than I was expecting.

The high stiffness rating can be a bit intimidating on paper, but Dunlop have done a fantastic job of making this a comfortable and user friendly racket.

It has bags of power and offers easy access to spin, making hitting heavy topspin balls a joy.

It also has a pretty large sweet spot, so you don’t need to time the ball perfectly to get a great result.

I found the FX 500 was great for hitting aggressively to big targets, as I could rely on the stiff yet comfortable frame to produce the power for me whilst I focussed on the accuracy.

The accessible swing weight made it straightforward to hit with depth consistently, whilst the surprising amount of spin I was able to generate gave me plenty of margin for error.

The launch angle of the ball out of the string bed is pretty aggressive, meaning you can hit with a lot of height over the net pretty easily.

This was great when I wanted to neutralise a point out of the corners, and I found it particularly helpful when defending out of the backhand corner.

On the flip side, this made hitting heavy, aggressive balls effortless. Therefore, constructing points was a lot simpler with this racket than I found with other midplus sticks.

In this sense, it felt relatively similar to a Babolat Pure Drive, due to the access to easy power and a clean ball striking feel.

For such a powerful and stiff stick, the Dunlop FX 500 performed pretty well up at the net. It felt very solid and secure when I was attacking the ball on put away volleys.

The manageable swing weight made it reasonably agile too, although you would struggle to swat flies with it!

When I had to hit multiple volleys in the same point, it did at times feel a little erratic off the string bed.

This was strange as the racket felt consistent when I was applying a lot of racket head speed to the ball, but occasionally it did feel a little numb when hitting volleys.

However, it was a nice racket to volley with overall and I would be happy to play doubles with this racket on a regular basis.

Just like when I was unloading on my groundstrokes, the Dunlop FX 500 definitely rewarded aggressing swings on the serve.

I was able to bomb the ball down with relative ease and thanks to the middle of the road swing weight, I did not get fatigued in the process.

The open string pattern really helped me find angles and hit with a decent amount of spin, but this racket really shone through when I wanted to go for my big first serves.

The racket felt easy to swing and I was able to generate effortless power thanks to its stiffness and great energy transfer through the ball.

I thought a racket this stiff would cause me some arm issues or straining, but it did not.

The technology Dunlop has loaded this stick up with really does make a difference and means you can serve big consistently without having to worry about putting extra stress on your body.

This was a really solid, yet forgiving racket to return serve with. I was impressed by its stability and comfort even when I was redirecting some pretty big serves.

It instilled some extra confidence in my game and helped me be more aggressive on my returns than I usually would.

I could really lean on this racket and trust it would get the ball deep consistently, even when I was just blocking the ball back up the middle of the court.

The larger sweet spot and easy power allowed me to go after my second serve returns a bit more and even take the ball early inside the baseline at times.

If you are an intermediate to advanced level player that is often returning big serves and want a consistent, stable and predictable racket that you can rely on, the Dunlop FX 500 is a great option for you.

The FX 500 from Dunlop certainly punches above its weight.

It is very stable and feels rock solid for its specs, but also has the benefit of being maneuverable and whippy, making it a great all rounder.

It offers a lot of power and a crisp feel on groundstrokes, whilst the stiff frame provides a neutral platform for you to rip winners from.

There was a surprising amount of spin on offer too, which really helped me feel confident taking a big cut at the ball as I could rely on the ball to dip inside the baseline with heavy spin right at the last moment.

It is easy to see why this is a popular Dunlop racket, it looks as good as it plays and could easily be mistaken for a more player focussed racket than it actually is.

This racket is ideal for an intermediate to advanced player that wants a racket that will give them a bit of extra pop on their shots.

It was great to serve and return with and really rewarded fast racket head speed too.