Established as a pioneer in golf, Dunlop will also use Srixon technology in tennis in the future. Frontman is US Open finalist Kevin Anderson.
A performance by Kevin Anderson suits every tournament well, as the South African had played his way into the semi-finals in Madrid. For the first time at an ATP Master 1000 event. And all this with play equipment that follows the great tradition of John McEnroe and Steffi Graf: namely with a Dunlop racquet.
Traditionally, the Dunlop brand is very strong in the tennis ball segment. After the takeover of the worldwide brand and distribution rights by the Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Rubber Industries in April 2017, increased investments are now being made in the Dunlop brand and blown into an attack: with Kevin Anderson, but also Agnieszka Radwanska. And the magic word “Srixon”, because golf fans are also familiar with it.
Srixon has established itself worldwide as one of the leading golf brands and produces sports products for professional and amateur players on a technically very high level. And the transfer of the know-how gained into tennis works perfectly, as Torsten Bonacker, Marketing Communications Manager at Dunlop, explained during the Munich tournament. The Sonic core thus increases the impact force and gives it back to the ball as soon as it is catapulted out of the string bed. We now have premium Dunlop tennis rackets with integrated Srixon technology”
Dunlop offers two lines: On the one hand, the tournament framework, which is also played by the professionals, for example by Kevin Anderson, the current number eight in the world. And one that is primarily focused on power. The special feature, however, is the energy conversion that takes place through Srixon technology, no matter at which level. The future lies in any case with the Dunlop Srixon Rackets.
Speaking of the future, it has also recently been announced that Dunlop will be the exclusive supplier of balls, rackets and accessories for the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. “Since the beginning of our new partnership with Srixon, we have strengthened our product, our tour presence, and now is the time to show our commitment to the next generation of players. There is no better place for this than the world’s best tennis training program, the IMG Academy,” said Kai Nitsche, Vice President and General Manager of Dunlop.
This cooperation naturally also supports the existing “Dunlop D Squad” program, which is looking for talents worldwide in order to bind young players to the brand at an early stage. Kevin Anderson showed where this could lead last summer: The 31-year-old reached his first final at a Grand Slam tournament – at the US Open, in his adopted country.