Tennis Warehouse Playtest: Dunlop SX 300 Racquet Family

[TW Staff]

Attention Talk Tennis Members:

We have a VERY Limited number of Dunlop SX 300 Tour, SX 300 and SX 300LS racquets for a playtest. This playtest is open to USA Talk Tennis members only.

Please note: Playtesters will be required to get their test racquet strung. Each racquet will be shipped with a set of Dunlop Explosive Spin Yellow 17 & Silk Pro 17.

The grip size for all playtest samples is 4 ⅜” only.

Application period is now closed. Selected playtesters will be notified via email by Friday, February 7th.

We have a very limited quantity of racquets to playtest. We select playtesters based on a number of factors, including message board participation and performance on past playtests.

Due Date: March 13, 2020 by 5 pm PST

Failure to post a full review by the deadline will result in disqualification from future playtests.

Include the following in your review:

Racquet received:
String and tension used for test:
Tennis experience/background:
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):
Current racquet/string setups:
How many hours did you play with the racquet?

Comments on racquet performance:

-Groundstrokes:
-Serves:
-Volleys:
-Serve returns:
General reaction/comments on overall performance:

We will remove “email sent” posts but encourage a lively pre-game discussion on Dunlop racquets.

TW Staff

 

[jangotango]

Neon yellow/green = power + spin monster

 

[n8dawg6]

neato

 

[Rohith Kolli]

I am currently playing with the Srixon Revo Sv 3.0. I would love comparing these rackets and look forward to hopefully playing with them.

 

[A_Instead]

Good luck to all that applied... Dunlop Srixon are great rackets that are perhaps overlooked by many...but shouldn't be..you will see..

 

[mogo]

Looked at the TW Dunlop 300 SX tour playtest video and almost everyone's rpm numbers were up playing with the racquet on the play sight data. I like the swing weight too, definitely beefy.

 

[bigserving]

I have played with different frames from Dunlop lines for years. Other frames have felt better, at times, but I have always gotten my best tournament results with Dunlop!. My tennis playing friends have told me, for years, that I hit a heavier, harder, more spinny ball with open-string patterned Dunlop frames. I have strayed away from time to time, but I always wind up cooing back.

 

[time_fly]

I have an SX 300 demo arriving tomorrow so I will write a mini review regardless. I'm playing very well with my Pure Aero Plus (2019) but, while it's easier on my arm than previous Babolats I've tried, I'm always open to better feel. Dunlop got the feel of the CX racquets pretty well dialed in between comfort and feedback, so I hope their approach carries over to the SX line. Looking forward to it!

 

[TennisHound]

I've used the Dunlop CV 3.0F Tour extensively, and I like it the best of most 97-98" racquets. Its as close as you can come to a 98" Pure Aero. It could be a little stiffer, but consequently, I never had any arm problems, even with the 4pt HL balance. First Dunlop I owned and it sold me on them (also comes with a really nice racquet case).

 

[badmice2]

Glad to see that Dunlop Srixon is taking a side step from making super stiff rackets. Srixon is definitely rubbing off the Dunlop brand in a good way. If the specs holds true, it should be an appealing offering to the rackets market.

 

[jwocky]

Long time Dunlop user (tennis - MaxPly Fort and 200G/MW 200/M-Fil 200/Aerogel 4D 200 - and squash). I am still using the Aerogel 4D 200s and a 200 Tour in my rotation.

Looking forward to play testing this one, if selected.

 

[Casius_Juventus]

Looked at the TW Dunlop 300 SX tour playtest video and almost everyone's rpm numbers were up playing with the racquet on the play sight data. I like the swing weight too, definitely beefy.

"Beefy" is an understatement :-I ...I bought an SX300 Tour recently and the SW came in at a staggering 353 !!
There's definitely an "Enormous" issue with Quality Control with this model regarding Balance and SW Watch Out !!
I'm totally heartbroken as I had been praising Dunlop Srixon quality control before having previously bought the CX200 Tour and CX200+ all coming in dead-on-spec. Why SX QC is so bad now is beyond belief

 

[mogo]

"Beefy" is an understatement :-I ...I bought an SX 300 Tour recently and the SW came in at a staggering 353 !!
There's definitely an "Enormous" issue with Quality Control with this model regarding Balance and SW Watch Out !!
I'm totally heartbroken as I had been praising Dunlop Srixon quality control before having previously bought the CX200 Tour and CX200+ all coming in dead-on-spec. Why SX QC is so bad now is beyond belief

OMG!!!! I know TW can RDC before you buy. Did you buy locally?

 

[AJvR]

"Beefy" is an understatement :-I ...I bought an SX 300 Tour recently and the SW came in at a staggering 353 !!
There's definitely an "Enormous" issue with Quality Control with this model regarding Balance and SW Watch Out !!
I'm totally heartbroken as I had been praising Dunlop Srixon quality control before having previously bought the CX200 Tour and CX200+ all coming in dead-on-spec. Why SX QC is so bad now is beyond belief

Damn. I think racquet manufacturers should give a swing weight spec (with a reasonable variance like they do with static weight and balance). As far as I know only Prince does provide this info, kudos to them! It's a very important specification which defines a good part of the character of a frame, and gives the buyer some confidence in what he/she may expect. And when someone gets a frame outside the spec range they should be able to return it for a replacement.

 

[Casius_Juventus]

OMG!!!! I know TW can RDC before you buy. Did you buy locally?

I bought locally unfortunately.
I strung it today with a thinner 18g string and managed to bring the SW down to 350 but damn, it's right at the tip of what my arm and shoulder can tolerate.

 

[mogo]

I bought locally unfortunately.
I strung it today with a thinner 17g string and managed to bring the SW down to 350 but damn, it's right at the tip of what my arm and shoulder can tolerate.

Sorry to hear that, do you notice the spin factor? It is supposed to really increase the rpm. After watching the TW video I was pretty impressed with the data.

 

[Casius_Juventus]

Damn. I think racquet manufacturers should give a swing weight spec (with a reasonable variance like they do with static weight and balance). As far as I know only Prince does provide this info, kudos to them! It's a very important specification which defines a good part of the character of a frame, and gives the buyer some confidence in what he/she may expect. And when someone gets a frame outside the spec range they should be able to return it for a replacement.

Completely agree with you.
I'm wondering, What do manufacturers do with their Reject racquets? Is there a secondary grey market for these racquets that some nefarious retailers can tap into and buy rejects at enormous discount and then dump them on us as official racquets? Of course, I'm speculating but my specs are so different to those published by TW that I simply have to ask questions !!

 

[Casius_Juventus]

Sorry to hear that, do you notice the spin factor? It is supposed to really increase the rpm. After watching the TW video I was pretty impressed with the data.

I'm not a big spin doctor but even with my compact strokes, I was getting more spin than usual but not monster-like. How much from the ramped up SW and how much from the string-bed, hard to tell.

 

[BBender716]

Very interested in comparing the Tour model to my Blade v7. This frame seems right up my alley! Hope to have the opportunity to write up a good compare and contrast in addition to an independent review.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[joah310]

The sw on the tour is very appealing... never bonded with a pure aero maybe this will be the one. Also I hope this can help my spin production with my developing topspin forehand.

 

[time_fly]

"Beefy" is an understatement :-I ...I bought an SX 300 Tour recently and the SW came in at a staggering 353 !!

Wow. I saw the tennisnerd review and it sounded like both of his were also over-spec on swingweight. But not that bad.

 

[joah310]

Wow 350s that might be interesting. I've been sticking around 340s so maybe an extra 10 pts will maybe make me a pro!!

 

[BorgCash]

Long time Dunlop user (tennis - MaxPly Fort and 200G/MW 200/M-Fil 200/Aerogel 4D 200 - and squash). I am still using the Aerogel 4D 200s and a 200 Tour in my rotation.

Looking forward to play testing this one, if selected.

Got many Aerogel 4D 200 and 200 Tour, they're probably my favourite racquets, although i got more than 200 racquets.

 

[joah310]

Got many Aerogel 4D 200 and 200 Tour, they're probably my favourite racquets, although i got more than 200 racquets.

I would be surprised with your collection of 200, but I am nearing that number myself...

 

[BorgCash]

I would be surprised with your collection of 200, but I am nearing that number myself...

So many good racquets i want to try!
Most of all i like 80's racquets (as well as players and tennis in general)

 

[joah310]

So many good racquets i want to try!
Most of all i like 80's racquets (as well as players and tennis in general)

I also have many rackets from the 80s. My dad is a fanatic collector of POGs, and I just grab whatever I can or looks good. 80s rackets almost never disappoint. But some can be a little unwieldy. Curious but is the dunlop 200 like a pro staff 6.1?

 

[Downtheline1]

The Tour looks like a great racquet for hitting big with margin to safe targets. Big serve plus big forehand.

 

[samprasbackhand]

In my entire playing career I think I have yet to hit with a Dunlop so hopefully I'll get a chance to with this playtest. Signed up for the tour seeing as it most closely matches what I like playing with

 

[joah310]

In my entire playing career I think I have yet to hit with a Dunlop so hopefully I'll get a chance to with this playtest. Signed up for the tour seeing as it most closely matches what I like playing with

Dunlops are very good rackets for the most part. The black max was my 3rd actual racket and I have a couple 300s all very good rackets. Alot to look forward to.

 

[taydbear7]

Dunlops are very good rackets for the most part. The black max was my 3rd actual racket and I have a couple 300s all very good rackets. Alot to look forward to.

I've never played with Dunlop so what are the comparable to?

 

[TennisHound]

"Beefy" is an understatement :-I ...I bought an SX 300 Tour recently and the SW came in at a staggering 353 !!
There's definitely an "Enormous" issue with Quality Control with this model regarding Balance and SW Watch Out !!
I'm totally heartbroken as I had been praising Dunlop Srixon quality control before having previously bought the CX200 Tour and CX200+ all coming in dead-on-spec. Why SX QC is so bad now is beyond belief

Wow, 353?! I'm curious what the racquet weighed. I'm surprised they are able to get even the listed 336 SW out of an 11.1oz (unstrung) racquet and still have a 6pts HL balance. The only thing that comes close is the 3rd Gen PST at 333SW. Even the RF97 and Vcore Pro 330 don't have a SW that high. Other than the Gamma RZR 137, Its the highest SW racquet you can buy from TW (unless I'm missing something). For reference, here's some stats:

	RZR137	SX300T	RF97	PST	YVCore 330	Gravity Pro	PAT
SW	412​	336​	335​	333​	332​	332​	327​
Weight Strung	10.4​	11.7​	12.6​	12​	12.3​	11.7​	11.8​
Weight Unstrung	9.8​	11.1​	12​	11.3​	11.7​	11.1​	11.1​
HLpts	-7​	6​	9​	6​	7​	6​	6​

 

[joah310]

I've never played with Dunlop so what are the comparable to?

I think the old aerogel 4d 300 tour can be comparable to the old radicals. Lighter on the swing and low powered. Maybe also comparable to a wilson 6.1 team. Those are the only rackets I have used that played similar to the dunlop. Basically 300 series is a light players racket like the old radical. Havent tried the 16x19 version of the 300, but the 300 line was full of very nice frames. From what I know the 200 line was also very nice, a smaller 95si head with 18x20 pattern. Other than that, my experience is limited to rackets of the 80s.

 

[time_fly]

I just received my SX 300 demo. To be clear, this is a normal TW demo, not a playtest racquet. I will be comparing it to my own Pure Aero Plus (2019), a demo Pure Aero Tour (2019), and -- one of these things is not like the others -- a Phantom 97P. Comparing them side-by-side, the SX 300 beam is a bit thicker in the head than the Pure Aero and the string bed is slightly longer and narrower. The uneven cross string spacing, a notable feature also of the CX racquets, is very prominent. Mine is only 3.5 points HL with strings but no dampener or overgrip, and the swingweight seems in line with my two Pure Aeros so I am guessing somewhere in the neighborhood of 330. That's why I didn't test the Tour model, BTW. I wanted to match swing weights, not mass.

 

[joah310]

I just received my SX 300 demo. To be clear, this is a normal TW demo, not a playtest racquet. I will be comparing it to my own Pure Aero Plus (2019), a demo Pure Aero Tour (2019), and -- one of these things is not like the others -- a Phantom 97P. Comparing them side-by-side, the SX 300 beam is a bit thicker in the head than the Pure Aero and the string bed is slightly longer and narrower. The uneven cross string spacing, a notable feature also of the CX racquets, is very prominent. Mine is only 3.5 points HL with strings but no dampener or overgrip, and the swingweight seems in line with my two Pure Aeros so I am guessing somewhere in the neighborhood of 330. That's why I didn't test the Tour model, BTW. I wanted to match swing weights, not mass.

Look forward to your review. I hope I get selected so that I can review one too.

 

[taydbear7]

Look forward to your review. I hope I get selected so that I can review one too.

Good luck. I don't know which one you picked but I picked the LS because I think that will be the least popular one which will increase my chances of getting selected haha.

 

[joah310]

Good luck. I don't know which one you picked but I picked the LS because I think that will be the least popular one which will increase my chances of getting selected haha.

Haha I think I may have chose the more popular tour model. My rackets are generally in the 340 sw range and so I thought It was the most appropriate. And curious but are we allowed to add lead to the rackets? @TW Staff. And when will the chosen be selected?

 

[joah310]

Good luck. I don't know which one you picked but I picked the LS because I think that will be the least popular one which will increase my chances of getting selected haha.

Best of luck to you too!

 

[time_fly]

Haha I think I may have chose the more popular tour model. My rackets are generally in the 340 sw range and so I thought It was the most appropriate. And curious but are we allowed to add lead to the rackets? @TW Staff. And when will the chosen be selected?

In past playtests, reviewers have usually written the basic reviews about the stock racquets then added paragraphs about modifications, different string setups, etc.

 

[joah310]

In past playtests, reviewers have usually written the basic reviews about the stock racquets then added paragraphs about modifications, different string setups, etc.

ok so stock first, then mods.

 

[Casius_Juventus]

Wow, 353?! I'm curious what the racquet weighed. I'm surprised they are able to get even the listed 336 SW out of an 11.1oz (unstrung) racquet and still have a 6pts HL balance. The only thing that comes close is the 3rd Gen PST at 333SW. Even the RF97 and Vcore Pro 330 don't have a SW that high. Other than the Gamma RZR 137, Its the highest SW racquet you can buy from TW (unless I'm missing something). For reference, here's some stats:

	RZR137	SX300T	RF97	PST	YVCore 330	Gravity Pro	PAT
SW	412​	336​	335​	333​	332​	332​	327​
Weight Strung	10.4​	11.7​	12.6​	12​	12.3​	11.7​	11.8​
Weight Unstrung	9.8​	11.1​	12​	11.3​	11.7​	11.1​	11.1​
HLpts	-7​	6​	9​	6​	7​	6​	6​

It's the balance of my SX300 Tour which is completely off spec.
Strung with MSVFHex 1.27 :
Weight : 333 g
Balance : 33.3 cm <--- 8mm more head-heavy than TW specs !!!
SW : 353 kgcm2

 

[TennisHound]

It's the balance of my SX300T which is completely off spec.
Strung with MSVFHex 1.27 :
Weight : 333 g
Balance : 33.3 cm <--- 8mm more head-heavy than TW specs !!!
SW : 353 kgcm2

Dang Lol, that’s crazy! That’s like a defective item.

 

[Casius_Juventus]

Dang Lol, that’s crazy! That’s like a defective item.

Clearly Dunlop has much to answer.
Suffice to say, CAVEAT EMPTOR.

 

[joah310]

It's the balance of my SX300T which is completely off spec.
Strung with MSVFHex 1.27 :
Weight : 333 g
Balance : 33.3 cm <--- 8mm more head-heavy than TW specs !!!
SW : 353 kgcm2

those are some ridiculous specs. is Dunlop QC worse than wilson?

 

[Sardines]

"Beefy" is an understatement :-I ...I bought an SX 300 Tour recently and the SW came in at a staggering 353 !!
There's definitely an "Enormous" issue with Quality Control with this model regarding Balance and SW Watch Out !!
I'm totally heartbroken as I had been praising Dunlop Srixon quality control before having previously bought the CX200 Tour and CX200+ all coming in dead-on-spec. Why SX QC is so bad now is beyond belief

Is that RDC tested or home tested? What are the rest of the specs? If RDC tested, pm if and when you want to get rid of it! I'm interested in switching to 100 sq in.
The SX300T I tested I thought was in the high 320 was actually 335kg/cm2. It feels like a better feeling Pure Aero Tour, but headlight balanced and lighter. I like it but won't buy new unless I gel with it a lot.

 

[Casius_Juventus]

those are some ridiculous specs. is Dunlop QC worse than wilson?

So far, from my experience, it seems Dunlop QC is Model Dependent.
I don't want to disrespect Dunlop because I became a total convert last year, having bought CX200T and CX200Plus which were dead-on-spec. I was so amazed and happy I told all my friends I was never going back to Yonex cause Dunlop Srixon had far better QC.
Lesson learnt !

 

[Casius_Juventus]

Is that RDC tested or home tested? What are the rest of the specs? If RDC tested, pm if and when you want to get rid of it! I'm interested in switching to 100 sq in.
The SX300T I tested I thought was in the high 320 was actually 335kg/cm2. It feels like a better feeling Pure Aero Tour, but headlight balanced and lighter. I like it but won't buy new unless I gel with it a lot.

I measured my specs on a friends Head 3 in 1 machine.
And it makes sense even if you work backwards from the TW published specs.
My static weight is almost same as TW but with an 8mm difference in balance towards the head, which translates to about an 8g difference taken from the handle and dumped in the hoop, resulting in about 16 unit difference in SW. Voila !
And further, the racquet is incredibly stable, as if the Twist Weight is Stratospheric !!

 

[joah310]

I measured my specs on a friends Head 3 in 1 machine.
And it makes sense even if you work backwards from the TW published specs.
My static weight is almost same as TW but with an 8mm difference in balance towards the head, which translates to about an 8g difference taken from the handle and dumped in the hoop, resulting in about 16 unit difference in SW. Voila !
And further, the racquet is incredibly stable, as if the Twist Weight is stratospheric !!

Sounds like a massive beast.

So far, from my experience, it seems Dunlop QC is Model Dependent.
I don't want to disrespect Dunlop because I became a total convert last year, having bought CX200T and CX200Plus which were dead-on-spec. I was so amazed and happy I told all my friends I was never going back to Yonex cause Dunlop Srixon had far better QC.
Lesson learnt !

That is unfortunate. I never had any problems with my 300 series rackets or any dunlops that I have used. I hope dunlop fixes this, but honestly I wouldn't mind a 350 sw racket.

 

[TennisHound]

Dunlop products are still top notch. The SX300 Tour may have just had problems with the first batch of racquets.

I remember I got one of the first Blade CV 16x19s to come out, and it was around 11.8oz strung 1.5pts HL. Wilson curbed the QC with later models.

 

[time_fly]

I'm on the play test, and I'm looking forward to it because I've been enjoying my demo SX 300 so far. I've hit with it a couple of times, but I want to spend more time with the racquet before posting impressions. Besides, I need to save some material for the official review. I also plan to track down an RDC machine for my play test frame since there's some controversy over the specs.

 

[joah310]

I'm on the play test, and I'm looking forward to it because I've been enjoying my demo SX 300 so far. I've hit with it a couple of times, but I want to spend more time with the racquet before posting impressions. Besides, I need to save some material for the official review. I also plan to track down an RDC machine for my play test frame since there's some controversy over the specs.

lucky you! hope to read your review in the near future!