Dunlop CX 400 Tour Review

I have been enjoying this Dunlop CX 400 Tour Review for a couple of weeks. It’s a true “sleeper” racquet. Let’s get into it!

This Dunlop CX 400 Tour Review was tested with what has recently become a standard string for me, the Solinco Hyper-G Round. I usually string my racquets at 24 kg mains and 23 kg crosses (53 lbs and 51 lbs for you Americans), and this worked well in this racquet from the get-go. It doesn’t strike me as a string-sensitive racquet that plays differently depending on what strings you put in it. If you want to know more about strings, you can check out the Tennisnerd Guide to Racquets and Strings.

Specs and tech

What’s new in the Dunlop CX 400 Tour? Well, they have updated the mold adding more of a box shape below the 10/2 axis to enhance stability, control and feel. It also comes with wider cross-string spacing to enhance spin and power. Dunlop also updates the stiffness profile, adding greater flexibility on the inner part of the frame for enhanced dwell time and pocketing, while also stiffening the racket’s face for added stability and power. To help reduce harsh impact vibrations, Dunlop adds a highly elastic material (named Vibroshield) to the midsection of both the hoop and shaft. This is complemented by Sonic Core with Infinergy, a uniquely pliable material applied to the 3/9 axis of the head to boost comfort and power.

How does it play?

The techy text above is, in part, taken from the Tennis Warehouse description. However, in this case, I must say I agree with all the changes and I do feel the difference compared to the previous Dunlop CX 400 Tour. The boxy beam feels nice in hand and captures a nice blend of old-school and modern.

You get nice power with this racquet, but it does retain string bed pocketing without becoming a trampoline. The racquet feels very balanced. Maybe a 16/20 pattern would have made it even better, but I’m not sure of that as there is plenty of spin potential without the racquet being overly “launchy”.

I really enjoyed the previous racquet, but this 2024 CX 400 Tour update feels refined. They took something that was good, retooled, took a risk in changing the mold and came up with something even better.

All the players that tested this racquet with me said they could use it in a match. It was whippy and powerful on serve, stable enough on return, the string pattern was spinny but controlled, and the feel in the string bed was nice and comfortable. This is already a candidate for me for racquet of the year. I will play with it more and test it also in competitive matches. But I have been very happy using this racquet against both weaker and stronger players, while hitting and playing points.

Summary

You have to love it when a tennis company takes something that was working as it was and tries to improve it. Often you just see minor updates that feels a bit more like marketing than anything. Sometimes they are just cosmetic updates. The 2024 Dunlop CX 400 Tour improved on an already good racquet. This stick now competes (and beats, if you ask me) with racquets like the HEAD Speed MP, the Babolat Pure Strike 100 16/20, the Wilson Blade 100 V8 (I have not yet tried the V9, but it sounds like my friend Henrik is switching to it). They are all good racquets, but this has worked best for my game. My only concern would be that in matches I might find it too powerful, so I do need a little more time to see if it is my racquet for the 2024 season.

At this point it could very well be.