Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 8.4

The Dunlop SX 300 encouraged heavy topspin drives during baseline exchanges, and it was adept at slicing as well. Power access and depth both proved well within reach, and overall feel trended positive for our team. For Zsofi, the racquet's spin potential proved to be the defining trait from the baseline. She explained, "Overall, this was a great hitting experience, and I thought the racquet was easy to pick up and play with. I especially enjoyed it from the baseline, where I think most of its strength was. Spin is the first word that comes to mind, and I thought generating it was very easy and fun, and I was surprised by the amount of control I was getting. I could trust my shots and never really felt that I was overhitting. The SX 300 is pretty low powered in my opinion, or at least it doesn't have as much power as I expected. For a spin-oriented racquet, the launch angle wasn't too high either, which meant that my slices were sitting nice and low. I definitely enjoyed the stiffness of the frame, and the response I was getting back from the racquet head felt great. To me, this Dunlop SX 300 felt like a more controlled, less powerful version of the Babolat Pure Aero, but still with plenty of spin."

Jason appreciated the amount of spin within his reach, and he leaned into his topspin-heavy forehands. He said, "The SX 300 was a really easy racquet to swing from the baseline. I was able to generate a lot of spin on my shots thanks to its open string pattern, which was especially useful because of the higher launch angle. If I wasn't mindful about adding enough topspin, I found myself launching shots long. Depth control wasn't quite where I would've liked it, but I wasn't expecting Wilson Blade or Head Prestige levels of control going into the playtest. That said, I was impressed with the power level and net clearance, which were both excellent."

Despite being a flatter hitter, Tiffani was still able to take advantage of this racquet by emphasizing topspin more than usual. She described, "I've hit previous versions of this SX 300, so I had an idea of what to expect. There is a new mold, but easy spin and power were still the main features. The string spacing is quite open, which led to a pretty high launch angle compared to the tighter patterns I gravitate toward. I appreciated the easy net clearance when I was pushed back off the baseline. I could get a good arc on the ball to give myself time to move closer to the baseline. On the flip side, there were times when the SX 300 launched the ball on me. I'm not a natural spin player, so I needed to emphasize that part of my game to get this racquet to play more predictably. Otherwise, I found this racquet easy to swing and stable enough for me off the ground."

The Dunlop SX 300 gave Brittany an unusual amount of depth and net clearance, allowing her to remain consistent even when she was on the stretch. She said, "When I first started the playtest I noticed there was a very high launch angle, which meant my shots were landing very deep in the court. This was great when I was in a neutral position or on defense; I could get the ball back and push my opponent off the baseline, keeping me in the point. When it came to offense, it was definitely easy to overhit, but with all that spin potential I was able to get the ball to drop down inside the baseline. Slices were just OK for me. I only hit them when needed, and they tended to float slightly at times."

Volleys: 8.3

Up at net, the SX 300's easy handling and plentiful spin made shaping volleys very rewarding. Tiffani was able to make use of the racquet's maneuverability and firmer feel to consistently get good feedback, even on less ideal shots. She said, "I appreciated the easy mobility and stability most when I was at net. The racquet does play firmly, which helped me on off-center shots. I could stab at the ball and make a good play without the racquet fluttering too much in my hand. I did find the launch angle a bit hard to judge on touch volleys, so I found it best if I kept my volleys simple."

Brittany thought the SX 300's performance at net was fine, but not particularly impressive. She explained, "I had a very neutral opinion when it came to volleys with the Dunlop SX 300. There was nothing that stood out as overly good or bad. I thought there was a nice blend of maneuverability and stability. I didn't have any issues getting the racquet into position, and it felt pretty solid even if I was reaching for the ball. Additionally, the feel was on the firmer side, so it felt like the ball came in and out of the stringbed quickly. I hit most of my volleys as punch volleys deep in the court, which is my strength anyway."

Zsofi, however, found plenty of success with the SX 300 at net. She especially appreciated the firm feel that allowed her to lean into her touch-based game. She said, "The SX 300 felt stable at net, and I loved the crisp response I was getting from my shots. I also thought it was easy to maneuver and prepare on time." 

This racquet did nearly everything Jason asked of it, and he enjoyed the spin and power it consistently provided. He said, "The Dunlop SX 300 was nice and maneuverable up at net, and there wasn't much lag getting the racquet into position. I was also getting really good spin on my volleys. The torsional stability could've been a little better, but I think a bit of tungsten tape could easily fix that right up. I could easily snap my wrist and get good pop on my overheads.” 

Serves: 8.3

On serves, the SX 300's spin helped to bring a lot of balls back down into the service box, but the inherent pop was at times difficult to rein in. The frame's power helped Jason go for more aggressive serves, and the spin was shaping his seconds nicely. He described, "I really appreciated the extra power on my serves. This SX 300 definitely had more pop than my own racquet, which resulted in more free points. The spin potential was also fantastic, especially for my second serves." 

Zsofi had hoped for more success when serving with the SX 300. She said, "The one area where I didn't enjoy this racquet as much was my serve. I prefer slicing my serves more, and the racquet just didn't give me that pop I like. I played a few matches, and my serves consistently felt a bit off with this racquet."

Tiffani, however, appreciated what the SX 300 did for her serve, and she made good use of the uptick in power and spin. She explained, "The access to spin was especially nice on serve. Serves were my favorite shots with this racquet. I really liked swinging my serve out wide on both sides, and I was even able to draw an easy put-away a few times for some serve-plus-one tennis. That's not usually the case!" 

Brittany tried to lean into this racquet's strengths. She noted, "When it came to serves, I decided I was going to utilize what this racquet did well to its fullest potential, and that was spin. On first serves, I could hit a decent flat serve, but I started to mix in slice and kick serves on my first serves. This allowed me to mix in some variety and kept my opponent from getting comfortable. Second serves had some heavy kick, which I appreciated because I was able to keep my serve out of my opponent's strike zone."

Returns: 8.3

Returns with this SX 300 were characterized by power over precision. Most of our team didn't fully trust going after aggressive spots and opted to pick bigger targets with more margin. For Brittany's returns, spin was necessary to avoid hitting long. She said, "I found myself returning a little more conservatively. I aimed deep down the middle to give myself a little more margin for error. I was able to push my opponent back, but I wasn't necessarily hurting them. I had a little more freedom on second serve returns, but I still aimed for big targets down the line and consciously added spin to keep from overhitting."

The SX 300 sent a few balls flying long when Tiffani didn't manually add the necessary topspin. She described, "I did have some issues with the ball flying on returns with the SX 300. Big targets were key, but if I got too carried away when swinging big I would send the ball well past the baseline. Spin was once again necessary, and returns are where I struggle to add topspin the most."

For Zsofi, returns were a standout part of the playtest, and she was able to easily utilize her all-court game to immediately put pressure on her opponents. She said, "Returns felt smooth! I played against an ex-ATP player, and returning his huge serves felt great with this racquet. It didn’t get pushed around, and it didn't launch on me either." 

Jason's depth control with the SX 300 wasn't ideal when he was hitting returns, but he found enough spin to counteract that issue. He explained, "This racquet had plenty of pop to help me hit some solid returns. Similar to my groundstrokes, the depth control wasn't quite where I wanted it to be, but I was hitting my directional targets well. I didn't really have trouble with serves up high, at my body or out wide because of the racquet’s maneuverability.”

Breakdown Summary