Dunlop’s Power-Focused FX Racket Gets New Mold And Fresh Technology

Jack Draper serves as the face of the new Dunlop FX 500 racket.

Dunlop

It’s a whole new world for Dunlop’s power-focused FX tennis racket lineup with the latest FX 500 versions launching around Nov. 10 during the ATP Finals. That new world includes a revamped mold and fresh technology.

“We are super excited about it,” Keith Lloyd, product manager for Dunlop racket sports, tells me. “We have upgraded the mold, and we have added some technology. We feel we have a racket for every generation of player in the FX.”

Launching in five models—from the 100-square-inch-head FX 500 Super Lite at 255 grams up through the Lite at 270 grams, LS at 285 grams, the mainline FX 500 at 300 grams and the Tour, a 98-square-inch 305-gram frame—Lloyd says the focus on the update was improving on the last version with a more consistent sweet spot across the string bed and improved feeling.

“We wanted to improve the power by improving the power equality,” Lloyd says about the sweet spot. Doing so required a few steps. The new mold features an increased width on the face profile from the throat up to the 3 and 9 o’clock area while also increasing the beam width from the mid-throat up to the 3 and 9 o’clock spots. The thicker face profile and beam creates a stiffer racket, equaling more power.

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To make that power work across the entirety of the racket, a new grommet system at 3 and 9 o’clock staggers the eight horizontal strings. “That increases the string bed stiffness across the center of the racket,” Lloyd says. “It is harnessing the power in that area and creates a more consistent power across the entire string bed. Without that system, it would be too powerful in the center.”

Still, the brand continued its use of the Power Boost+ grooved grommet system it has featured, and improved upon, in the last two generations of the FX. The design allows for additional string movement on impact for more string elongation and power. Lloyd says the previous generation improved on the concept with a wider and deeper groove and that the technology has continued in the November 2025 launch.

At the same time, Dunlop wanted to improve the level of comfort, so engineers repositioned the brand’s signature Sonic Core with Infinergy foam from the 2 and 10 o’clock area to the 3 and 9 o’clock spots to match with the grooved gromets. “We wanted to directly counter stiffens from a comfort level,” Lloyd says.

The new FX also introduces a new Vibroshield dampening material in the 3 and 9 o’clock positions and in the handle to decrease negative vibrations, all with a focus on improving the feel.

Dunlop has three main pro-level silos, with the FX focused on power, the CX designed for control and the SX for spin. “It is really about finding the right racket for the player,” Lloyd says about having a mixture. British tennis star Jack Draper has led the use of the FX on tour, while Alexei Popyrin has also been a key player for the franchise. When the two take to the court they will do so with both new technology and a fresh aesthetic.

The FX’s new look falls in line with the brand’s other updates, adding a third color to the traditionally blue and black frame. The 2025 FX launch features a black hoop and the brand’s Flying D design in a vibrant blue atop a base purple.

Dunlop is accentuating its partnership with the ATP not only by launching the racket during the year-end ATP Finals but placing the ATP logo in the throat of the new FX 500.

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