The Racket

A brilliant, unvarnished look at a brutal sporting life.

Michael Foley, Sunday Times

As elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand … It’s Kitchen Confidential for tennis

Ed Caesar

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

A crushing reminder of the grist from which sporting greatness emerges

The Economist

A brutally honest assessment of his career and the effort it took to take him to the margins of the world’s elite.

Tom Lyons, The Currency

A visceral, melancholy and often self-lacerating book … History is usually written by the winners, but this intelligent, unvarnished, emotionally draining memoir shows why an also-ran’s perspective can be just as valuable

Andrew Lynch, Business Post

Conor Niland may only have managed a career-high ranking of 129 – only? that is some achievement in itself! – 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

Genuinely such a brilliant book, a brilliant read

Ciarán Murphy, Second Captains

One of the best Irish sports books of the last decade

Kieran Shannon, Irish Examiner

A fascinating, self-deprecating insight into the life of a tennis professional who isn’t one of the prize-grabbing elite

The Telegraph

An entertaining behind-the-scenes glimpse at life on the global tour

Telegraph Best 50 Books of the Year

A stone-cold classic. The story of Conor Niland’s life in professional tennis … recently became the third Irish book ever win the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. And deservedly so.

Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times

Outstanding

Paul Kimmage, Sunday Independent

Fascinating

The New York Times

A thoughtfully constructed memoir … plenty of self-deprecating humour, poignancy and insight to make this a page-turner

The Times

Brim-full with humour

Irish Examiner

Tremendous

Paul Kimmage, Irish Independent

Niland writes about the loneliness and absurdity of life on tour with an elegance and immediacy that makes readers feel as if they are alongside the battered pro trying so hard to reach a better life for himself.

Donald McRae, The Guardian

A beautiful book, ultimately about how to play the most important game of all – life.

Irish Daily Mail

Fascinating … not just for sports fans

Irish Daily Mail

Outstanding … brutally honest, brilliantly crafted

Cathal Dennehy, Irish Independent

The Racket is as elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand – a rich, mordant, affecting portrait of the occasional triumphs and frequent indignities of the low-ranked professional tennis player. I really loved it. It’s Kitchen Confidential for tennis.

Ed Caesar