{"id":778241,"date":"2026-08-05T06:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/product\/the-racket-on-tour-with-tenniss-golden-generation-and-the-other-99\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T06:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:20:08","slug":"the-racket-on-tour-with-tenniss-golden-generation-and-the-other-99","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/product\/the-racket-on-tour-with-tenniss-golden-generation-and-the-other-99\/","title":{"rendered":"The Racket: On Tour with Tennis\u2019s Golden Generation \u2013 and the other 99%"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nPrice: \u20b9699<\/del> - \u20b9482.00<\/span>
(as of Aug 05, 2026 01:20:08 UTC – Details<\/span>)<\/small><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

THE NO. 1 BESTSELLER<\/p>\n

WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024<\/p>\n

‘As elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand … It\u2019s Kitchen Confidential for tennis.’ Ed Caesar<\/p>\n

‘Well worth a read if you want the inside track on life on the lower rungs of the tennis circuit. Warts and all.’Judy Murray<\/p>\n

—-<\/p>\n

When Conor Niland was 16, he was chosen to hit with Serena Williams at Nick Bollettieri’s famed tennis academy. Conor, the Irish junior number one, was feeling a bit homesick. Serena, also 16, already owned her own house beside the academy.<\/p>\n

Conor Niland knows what it’s like when Roger Federer walks into the dressing room (‘Ciao, bonjour, hello!’), and he has had the exquisitely terrible experience of facing Novak Djokovic in the world’s biggest tennis stadium – while suffering from food poisoning. But he never reached the very top.<\/p>\n

The Racket is the story of pro tennis’s 99%: the players who roam the globe in hope of climbing the rankings and squeaking into the Grand Slam tournaments. It brings us into a world where a few dozen super-rich players – travelling with coaches and physios – share a stage with lonely touring pros whose earnings barely cover their expenses. Painting a vivid picture of the social dynamics on tour, the economics of the game, and the shadows cast by gambling and doping, The Racket is a witty and revealing underdog’s memoir and a unique look inside a fascinating hidden world.<\/p>\n

—-<\/p>\n

‘Conor Niland may only have managed a career-high ranking of 129 \u2013 only? that is some achievement in itself! \u2013 but The Racket, his account of how he managed this, is up there with the best half-dozen books on tennis ever written.’ Geoff Dyer<\/p>\n

‘Blending a passion for his chosen sport with a realistic study of the traumas of the tour, The Racket offers a brilliant insight from Ireland\u2019s greatest ever tennis player.\u2019 John Boyne<\/p>\n

‘A brilliant, unvarnished look at a brutal sporting life.’ Michael Foley, Sunday Times<\/p>\n

\u2018One of the best Irish sports books of the last decade\u2019 Kieran Shannon, Irish Examiner<\/p>\n

‘This will rightly join the list of The Best Irish Sports Books Ever Written. A superb insight into professional tennis from the ground up’ Paul Howard<\/p>\n

‘I ate this book up … reveals the sacrifices, commitment and decidedly unglamorous side of life on the tennis circuit’Sin\u00e9ad Moriarty<\/p>\n

‘A really wonderful read … Conor Niland has delivered an all-timer for tennis and sports journalism’ Ashlee Vance<\/p>\n

\u2018Genuinely such a brilliant book, a brilliant read\u2019 Ciar\u00e1n Murphy, Second Captains<\/p>\n

\u2018Unsparing in his depiction of the drudgery of tennis\u2019 Mike Jakeman, Spectator<\/p>\n

\u2018Compelling\u2019 Tennis365.com<\/p>\n

‘Brilliant book, I inhaled it’Jonathan Drennan, Sydney Morning Herald<\/p>\n

‘Devoured it in a day … I’ve read many tennis autobiographies: this is one of the very best’Charles Arthur<\/p>\n

‘If it’s not a contender for Sports Book of the Year, the world has gone mad.’ Fionn Davenport, Off The Ball<\/p>\n

‘Sure to become a must read of the tennis literature canon’Paul Perry<\/p>\n

\u2018Witty and insightful \u2026 an homage to the game he clearly still loves\u2019 Anna Carey, Irish Times<\/p>\n

\u2018Honest and droll\u2019 Laura Slattery, Irish Times<\/p>\n

‘His funny, sometimes painful, memoir, is a brilliant insider’s look at the brutally competitive world of tennis as well as a meditation on moments missed by inches.’ Sunday Independent<\/p>\n

‘A crushing reminder of the grist from which sporting greatness emerges’ The Economist<\/p>\n

\u2018A visceral, melancholy and often self-lacerating book \u2026 History is usually written by the winners, but this intelligent, unvarnished, emotionally draining memoir shows why an also-ran\u2019s perspective can be just as valuable\u2019 Andrew Lynch, The Business Post<\/p>\n

‘A brutally honest assessment of his career and the effort it took to take him to the margins of the world\u2019s elite.’ Tom Lyons, The Currency<\/p>\n

\u2018An excellent book\u2019 Denis Hurley, Irish Farmers Journal<\/p>\n

‘A searingly honest account of the real world of tennis\u2019 Irish Country Living<\/p>\n

Publisher \u200f : \u200e Penguin
Publication date \u200f : \u200e 29 May 2025
Language \u200f : \u200e English
Print length \u200f : \u200e 320 pages
ISBN-10 \u200f : \u200e 0241998077
ISBN-13 \u200f : \u200e 978-0241998076
Item Weight \u200f : \u200e 200 g
Dimensions \u200f : \u200e 12.9 x 1.5 x 19.8 cm
Country of Origin \u200f : \u200e United Kingdom
Net Quantity \u200f : \u200e 750.00 Grams
Importer \u200f : \u200e Penguin Random House India Pvt Ltd
Packer \u200f : \u200e Penguin Random House India Pvt Ltd
Generic Name \u200f : \u200e Book
Best Sellers Rank: #8,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #3 in Tennis (Books) #161 in Short Stories (Books) #283 in Biographies & Autobiographies (Books)
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THE NO. 1 BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024 ‘As elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand … It\u2019s Kitchen Confidential for tennis.’ Ed Caesar ‘Well worth a read if you want the inside track on life on the lower rungs of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":778242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[44],"product_tag":[237],"class_list":["post-778241","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-bicycles-heavy-gym-equipment","product_tag-tennis","desktop-align-left","tablet-align-left","mobile-align-left","first","instock","sale","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/778241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=778241"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=778241"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anantrading.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=778241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}