The Dunlop Sonic Core Pro, Elite and Ultimate rackets are traditional shaped squash rackets, endorsed by world class players Gregory Gaultier and Diego Elias. These rackets were originally released in 2012, and have been regularly updated since. They’re Dunlop’s ‘top of the line’ squash rackets, priced between £95-£115, depending on the racket you choose.
Dunlop have recently partnered with Srixon, a Japanese company who primarily operate within the golf market. Since partnering up, the team at Dunlop were explaining how Srixon have worked tirelessly on improving their research, testing and product development. These rackets are proudly share the Srixon logo inside the frame – here’s hoping this partnership will lead to future innovation in squash racket technlogy.
Purchase links:
PDH Sports
Amazon UK
Kicking off on the innovation front, Dunlop’s latest rackets feature their new ‘Infinergy’ technology, using the same foam technology inside the rackets that Adidas use in their Boost soles. This is billed as a technology that reduces vibrations, gives a bigger sweet spot and increases the rebound energy on impact. You can read all about this in the squashgearreviews.com review of the brand new Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution squash rackets. Essentially, it should give more power with a more forgiving feel, without sacrificing the control these rackets offer.
Comparing the three rackets side by side
While at first glance these rackets all look and sound pretty similar, dig a little deeper and you’ll start to see the difference:
Sonic Core Pro 130
The Dunlop Sonic Core Pro 130 is the lightest racket in the range at 130g. It has the smallest head size at 470cm, with a dense stringing pattern for its head size of 14×18. This Sonic Core Pro is billed as Dunlop’s most control orientated racket.
Diego Elias’s squash racket – the Dunlop Sonic Core Ultimate 132
The Dunlop Sonic Core Ultimate 132 is next. It’s billed as weighing 132g has a larger 500cm head, with a dense 16×19 stringing pattern. The larger head gives a little more power, while the dense stringing pattern is orientated towards control.
Gregory Gaultier’s squash racket – the Dunlop Sonic Core Elite 135
Last is the Dunlop Sonic Core Elite 135. Quoted as having a frame weight of 135g, this too has a large 500cm head, though has a less dense 14×18 stringing pattern. Having both a large head and a sparse stringing pattern, this is the most power orientated racket in the range.
Design
I really like the look of these rackets. Dunlop have opted for a much cleaner design than in previous rackets, with the coloured paint on the frames following the shape of the Dunlop logo on the strings.
Look closely inside the frame, and you’ll see ‘Powered by Srixon’, and also ‘Engineered in Japan’. Dunlop are serious about the fact they’ve merged with Srixon and it’s pretty evident in their rackets.
Weighing Dunlop’s latest traditional rackets on the scales
These rackets are all advertised as having a very similar weight. 130, 132 and 135g are all so close, you’d have a hard time telling the three apart (a one pence piece weighs 3.5g for reference).
It’s never quite as simple though – weighing these rackets on the scales tells a bit of a different story. Manufacturers have a weight ‘tolerance’, meaning there’s a little wiggle room in their weights from the factory. Adding strings, bumpers and grips to the rackets also tends to add around 30g to their overall weight.
| Racket | head (g) | grip (g) | overall (g) |
| Ultimate 132 (Diego Elias) | 83 | 71 | 154 |
| Elite 135 (Gregory Gaultier) | 84 | 73 | 156 |
| Pro 130 | 85 | 73 | 158 |
As you can see, all the rackets came out very similar on the scales. They also have a near identical weight distribution, meaning the balance points are near enough the same on each racket. Dunlop bills these rackets as being ‘head light‘, to me they felt a little more ‘even‘ – though it’s hard to find a consistent definition of balance points.
In practice – taking the rackets on court
I really put each of these rackets through their paces for a handful of matches, and also playing matches where I switched between rackets after each game. I also took them on court at the same time for some solo practise, trying a number of drills to see how each racket felt in practice. I’ve broken down each attribute of the squash rackets into ‘Control’, ‘Foregiveness’, ‘Power’ and ‘Manoeuvrability’.
Control
The traditional shape of these rackets naturally tailors them all towards prioritising control over power. This was definitely evident testing the rackets out. I felt really confident taking the ball in short with each of these rackets. I naturally found myself playing accurate, perhaps more ‘careful’ squash when I had these rackets in my hand. This could be entirely psychological, though I’m not going to complain.
Dunlop says the Pro 130 offers the most control, though for me I found the Ultimate 132 was my favourite racket for taking the ball in short. The Pro 130 was undeniably good, but I simply preferred the feel from the strings on the Ultimate 132. The Elite 135 was still great for control, though its focus on power became a little evident when testing side by side with the other two rackets – I found myself overhitting the ball a little more often than with the other rackets.
1st – Ultimate 132
2nd – Pro 130
3rd – Elite 135
Forgiveness
When talking about forgiveness, this can be looked at in two ways. 1 – the size of the sweet spot, and 2 – how they play when you don’t hit the sweet spot.
The Pro 130 was the least forgiving of the three rackets thanks to its small head size – I found when I didn’t hit the sweet spot, power dropped a fair bit. I found the Elite 135 was the most forgiving – it has a large sweet spot thanks to it’s sparse stringing pattern, and shots where I didn’t hit the ball perfectly weren’t too affected. The Ultimate 132 sat neatly in the middle of the three rackets – it was pretty forgiving, just not quite as much as the 135.
1st – Elite 135
2nd – Ultimate 132
3rd – Pro 130
Power
I found the Elite 135 was the most powerful racket of the three. This is thanks to its large head size and sparse stringing pattern. I was able to play nicely weighted shots to the back of the court and add pace when I needed to.
It was a fairly close call between the Ultimate 132 and the Pro 130, the larger head size of the 132 helped, but the additional weight in the 130 I tested countered that somewhat. Overall, it was too close to call between the two.
I’ll happily say these aren’t the most powerful rackets I’ve ever used (the new Dunlop Sonic Core Evolution rackets tick that box, if that’s what you’re after). Though that’s not what they’re made for – the thing is, I didn’t really want to hit the ball hard with these rackets – I found myself more focused on placing the ball, rather than hammering it to the back. They encouraged me to play a more considered game than when I tested the Evolution rackets.
Make no mistake, If I wanted to hit the ball hard and fast, I could, and often did – it’s just not what these rackets are designed for.
1st – Elite 135
2nd – Ultimate 132
3rd – Pro 130
Manoeuvrability
I’m going to call this a tie between the three rackets. The weights were all so similar it was really hard to tell. If you want to nitpick, the Ultimate 132 felt the most manoeuvrable given its slightly lighter weight, though 4 grams really is negligible.
Thanks to their even balances and relatively light overall weights, these are all towards the more manoeuvrable end of the scale of all the rackets I’ve tested to date. Having just over 80g of weight in their heads, and an overall weight in the mid 150s, this meant it was easy to make quick adjustments to my swing and get the rackets up early to take shots in on the volley.
Result – three way tie
Durability
Testing these rackets out over a relatively short period of time is difficult to get a grasp of their durability. Their frames have held up really well with any bumps and scrapes hardly noticeable.
However, one thing I’ve found with Dunlop rackets is that their grommet strips break really easily. After just a couple of hours with the Ultimate 132, one of the grommets had already gone. This means the strings are now rubbing against the frame of the racket, which will inevitably lead to more string breakages. Fortunately it’s easy enough to find replacement strips for Dunlop rackets compared to most other brands. Having said that, this is the one thing I’d be really happy to see Dunlop address in future rackets.
Overall
Dunlop really does offer something for everyone with their line of Sonic Core rackets. Each of the three rackets in this review feel tailored towards control – if you’re looking for the most control possible, the Sonic Core Ultimate 132 and Pro 130 could suit your game really nicely. If you want to add a bit of power into the mix, the Sonic Core Elite 135 could be the perfect racket for you.
If I was to pick a personal favourite, it would be a tough call between the Elite 135 and the Ultimate 132. Truth be told, they played pretty similarly. The subtle differences only become apparent when you have the rackets side by side and you’re actively switching between the two. Their weight and balance were almost the same, they’re the same frame shape – the only real difference is the stringing pattern, with one focused on control, and the other on power.
For me, as an amateur player I found the Pro 130 the hardest to use. Perhaps the word ‘Pro’ is pretty apt, I feel that this racket is suited towards strong players. Paul from PDH Sports, a strong player in his own right, absolutely loved the Pro 130 going by the PDHSports review, so it’s something worth considering.
If power is something you favour in squash rackets, I’d definitely suggest checking out the brand new Sonic Core Evolution 120 and 130 rackets we recently reviewed.
Overall, these Dunlop Sonic Core rackets will really suit players who enjoy taking the ball in short and playing controlled, accurate squash. If you have the chance to test out these rackets side by side before buying, it’s well worth it. The differences are subtle, but they’re there. My one big complaint is with the durability of the grommet strips, however that’s a small price to pay for what I think are really well designed rackets that feel like great additions to Dunlop’s line-up.
Purchase links:
PDH Sports
Amazon UK
A very thorough and thoughtful review, thank you.
Which racket is which? The pictures don’t have captions. Thanks😊