The Racket cover art

The Racket

On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation – and the other 99%

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Racket

By: Conor Niland
Narrated by: Conor Niland
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

When Conor Niland was 16, he got the chance 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.

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.

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.

©2024 Conor Niland (P)2024 Penguin Audio Sports Tennis Inspiring Witty Thought-Provoking

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Obsessed: The Autobiography cover art
The Irish Experiment cover art
The Rodfather cover art
States of Play cover art
Running from Office cover art
This Is the Life cover art
Joe Canning cover art
Open cover art
Fight or Flight: My Life cover art
Champagne Football cover art
The Inner Game of Tennis cover art
My Autobiography cover art
Searching for Novak cover art
The Last Bell cover art
Together We Roared cover art
Renaissance Nation cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
A fantastic book, exploring the dreams, difficulties & reality of the majority of professional tennis players. Conor’s story is fascinating, well told & its greatest appeal is it is a life story, not only for tennis fans (which I am not particularly) but for all. I would highly recommend this book.

The real world of professional tennis

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Never played tennis and don’t really watch it but thoroughly enjoyed listening to the story of his years trying to break into to top of the game.

Really enjoyed it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved the honesty insight into the life of a professional tennis player and the family dynamics. It was wonderfully written and narrated. So enjoyable.

Brilliant read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fascinating insight into the itinerant and lonely
life of a journeyman tennis player. Well written and well read.



Absorbing listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An amazing series of insights by Conor and a worthy recipient of the many plaudits sung by the experts on sports writing.
I clenched my fist and said "Come on" a little loud when the $11,000 tournament in India was won
I was on a Ryanair flight.

Outstanding!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A majestic book about the challenges of a professional tennis player. I finished it over two days. Greta read.

Glorious book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Best book about Tennis since Agassi's. Great listen. Gives a real behind the scenes account of the Tennis tour

Brilliant story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very enjoyable, well paced, insight into international tennis and a personal journey. Well narrated and heartfelt.

Real, informative and personal

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really good book, describing the life of pro tennis. Told in an entertaining way that makes it very relatable.

Was like taking a walk down memory lane

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had no idea professional tennis was like this and I would assume most others don’t. A really eye opening story that is far removed from what I thought.

Eye Opening!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews