{"product_id":"9781844886401-racket","title":"The Racket","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation – and the other 99%\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA darkly funny memoir about the strange and fascinating world of professional tennis.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003ci\u003eA\u003c\/i\u003es elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand . It’s \u003ci\u003eKitchen Confidential\u003c\/i\u003e for tennis.' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEd Caesar\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Well worth a read if you want the inside track on life on the lower rungs of the tennis circuit. Warts and all.'\u003ci\u003e \u003cb\u003eJudy Murray\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e----\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eConor Niland knows what it's like when Roger Federer walks into the dressing room (\u003ci\u003e'Ciao, bonjour, hello!'\u003c\/i\u003e), 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Racket\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePainting a vivid picture of the social dynamics on tour, the economics of the game, and the shadows cast by gambling and doping, \u003ci\u003eThe Racket \u003c\/i\u003eis a witty and revealing underdog's memoir and a unique look inside a fascinating hidden world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e----\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘An entertaining behind-the-scenes glimpse at life on the global tour’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTelegraph Best 50 Books of the Year\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Fascinating’ \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Conor Niland may only have managed a career-high ranking of 129 – \u003ci\u003eonly\u003c\/i\u003e? that is some achievement in itself! – but \u003ci\u003eThe Racket,\u003c\/i\u003e his account of how he managed this, is up there with the best half-dozen books on tennis ever written.' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGeoff Dyer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Blending a passion for his chosen sport with a realistic study of the traumas of the tour,\u003ci\u003e The Racket\u003c\/i\u003e offers a brilliant insight from Ireland’s greatest ever tennis player.’\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e John Boyne\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A brilliant, unvarnished look at a brutal sporting life.' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichael Foley, Sunday Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘One of the best Irish sports books of the last decade’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKieran Shannon, Irish Examiner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘A stone-cold classic’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMalachy Clerkin,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Irish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Outstanding’ \u003cb\u003ePaul Kimmage, \u003ci\u003eSunday Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘A thoughtfully constructed memoir … plenty of self-deprecating humour, poignancy and insight to make this a page-turner’ \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'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.' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDonald McRae, The Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Outstanding … brutally honest, brilliantly crafted’ \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eIrish Independent\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41593311658081,"sku":"9781844886401","price":14.62,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_32356657.jpg?v=1740609657","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781844886401-racket","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}