{"product_id":"racket-1","title":"Racket","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE NO. 1 BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024\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\u003eWhen 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.\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. Painting 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\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'This will rightly join the list of The Best Irish Sports Books Ever Written. A superb insight into professional tennis from the ground up' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePaul Howard\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I ate this book up ... reveals the sacrifices, commitment and decidedly unglamorous side of life on the tennis circuit'\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eSinéad Moriarty\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A really wonderful read ... Conor Niland has delivered an all-timer for tennis and sports journalism' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAshlee Vance\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Genuinely such a brilliant book, a brilliant read’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCiarán Murphy, Second Captains\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Unsparing in his depiction of the drudgery of tennis’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMike Jakeman, Spectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Compelling’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTennis365.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Brilliant book, I inhaled it'\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eJonathan Drennan, Sydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Devoured it in a day ... I've read many tennis autobiographies: this is one of the very best'\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003eCharles Arthur\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'If it's not a contender for Sports Book of the Year, the world has gone mad.' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eFionn Davenport, Off The Ball\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Sure to become a must read of the tennis literature canon'\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003ePaul Perry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Witty and insightful … an homage to the game he clearly still loves’ \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnna Carey, Irish Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Honest and droll’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLaura Slattery, Irish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eHis 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.' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSunday Independent\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eA crushing reminder of the grist from which sporting greatness emerges' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘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’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAndrew Lynch, The Business Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A brutally honest assessment of his career and the effort it took to take him to the margins of the world’s elite.' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTom Lyons, The Currency\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘An excellent book’ \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eDenis Hurley, Irish Farmers Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eA searingly honest account of the real world of tennis’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrish Country Living\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘One of the great sports memoirs. Funny, moving, informative - it’s got the lot.’ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTony Parsons\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54249351577944,"sku":"9780241998076","price":17.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780241998076_7aa209cb-4781-4765-9ac8-14b4041d4768.jpg?v=1777873534","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/racket-1","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}