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Dunlop, an Australian-based company, has been in the sports industry for years, manufacturing products from tennis shoes to tennis rackets. Continuing their tradition of producing top of the line products for performance players, Dunlop introduces their newest technology for tennis rackets, the Aerogel technology. Aerogel is a light solid with the strength of up to 4,000 times its own weight, creating a solid feel on ball contact and a reduction in vibration within the racket frame. The Aerogel 500, an update of the Mi-Fil 500, is a 100 sq. in. racket frame with a weight of 9.69 oz (unstrung) that offers plenty of power and control in a lightweight, built with a crisp and comfortable response in mind.

Groundstrokes

From the first hit I noticed the power that the Aerogel 500 is capable of providing. There was consistently a good amount of pop in each of my shots. Also, with an open string pattern (16×18), there was a nice feel to each shot and it provided a bit more spin and controllable power. The sweetspot on the Aerogel 500 is quite sufficient due to the 100 sq. in. headsize to offer forgiveness on mishits and a great response. The light weight of the racket made it easy to swing through as well. Keeping in mind that the Aerogel 500 does pack some power, my swing did not have to be extremely long to generate good pace. On the baseline, the Aerogel 500 delivers power with comfort.

Volleys

At the net, the Aerogel 500 supplied the extra punch in the volleys to throw my opponent off. The 100 sq. in. headsize provided me with a larger sweetspot for better hits and forgiveness on mishits. The lightweight made the racket easy to maneuver at the net, making it easier to make quick and agile returns. Again, the open string pattern (16×18) allowed for a better feel on each shot, as well as an access to some spin. Placing the ball nice and deep with a lot of power won me a lot of points. Though the lightweight of the racket made it easy to maneuver, it wasn’t offering much stability. The racket’s vibration was tough to deal with at first and required more from me to get a solid shot. Despite these minor problems, the balanced blend of power and control at the net was likeable.

Serves

The power the Aerogel 500 generates helped a lot while serving - I experienced good pop on my serves. The light weight made it easy for me to swing freely for more power. On the control side, placing my serves was pretty easy, though having a flat, fast serve worked better for me. As for spin, I felt it was easy to generate on my serves. I found I could hit a good wide serve, and when combined with a net approach, it was a winning tactic for me.

Serve Returns

The Aerogel 500 performed solidly when returning all types of serves. On fast serves, the 100 sq. in. headsize allowed me to block returns effectively. On wide serves, the racket was easy to maneuver and to swing through for a better return. On slower and shorter serves, I was able to rip through them with the power the Aerogel 500 delivers. I was able to get good depth and direction on returns. If serves were difficult to reach, the large sweetspot of the Aerogel 500 helped get mishits over the net and in the court. The Aerogel 500 was a solid performer on serve returns.

Overall

The performance of the Aerogel 500 was very pleasing in all aspects of the game. The 100 sq. in. headsize offered a good-sized sweetspot and the open string pattern allowed for spin and great feel. The added pop on my shots was enjoyable and helped me in tight situations. The light weight of the racket made it easy to swing and did not require a long swing for a good hit. The Aerogel 500 is best suited for intermediate players looking for added power in a racket, while still maintaining good control.

Reviewed by: Michael Tan

To purchase the Dunlop Aerogel 500 click here