Alexei Popyrin is a talented Australian, who has struggled to make any big results in recent times. What is Popyrin’s new racquet?

Popyrin’s new racquet

I used to own Popyrin’s match racquet, a PT57A pro stock in 16×19 string pattern with the beefy swing weight of 364. Popyrin’s new racquet is a Dunlop FX 500 Tour, a far more powerful racquet. He was seen using the Dunlop in Atlanta and at the Citi Open. He hasn’t had the easiest time on the tennis court in 2022 with a 3-13 win/loss record so far. Sometimes a racquet change can ignite something new (whether it’s making an actual change to the game or works more like a placebo) or it can create further havoc on the confidence.

In my recent Mixed bag video (watch it below), I said that the racquet information on the tension sheet was wrong, but it was me who was wrong apparently! :)

A drastic difference

What is significant about Popyrin’s new racquet (I’m waiting to know the specs as one of my tennis friends own his personal racquet) is that it’s far more powerful and stiff than his standard racquet. The game has changed and requires power and forgiveness. The PT57A (based on the old HEAD Pro Tour) offers great feel, just ask Andy Murray, Aslan Karatsev and Francisco Cerundolo to name a few, but it doesn’t give you forgiveness and power “for free” (nothing in life is free, as we all come to learn).

I wasn’t personally a huge fan of the FX 500 Tour (check it out at Tennis Warehouse for the specs), but when pro players get pro stock racquets they can get differnet layups (the racquet will flex differently for example) and I’m sure Popyrin has added plenty of lead tape at 12, which he did with his previous racquet.

Ps. I have was informed that Dunlop did some changes to the original FX 500 Tour I reviewed early, not sure if that is true, but that makes me curious to test it again. If  you have tried this racquet, please comment below. Ds. 

I’m always curious to see pro players switch racquets and the effect it can have on their game. Popyrin has a huge forehand and can play exceptionally well (already has an ATP 250 title to his name), but he needs to get some confidence back.

I will keep my eyes on his game and if I found out his specs, I will publish them here. As revealed by the Atlanta ATP tension sheet, he uses Luxilon 4G at 23 kg or 51 lbs.

What do you think of this racquet change?