{"title":"Sports Books That Are More Than Sports Books","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"the-racket-1","title":"Conor Niland: The Racket [2025] paperback","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\u003eSinead 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\u003eCiaran 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\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Niland, Conor","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":50765828227411,"sku":"9780241998076","price":14.3,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"Good","offer_id":51984201810259,"sku":"XG80241998076","price":6.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"Very Good","offer_id":51984201843027,"sku":"XV80241998076","price":8.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"Like New","offer_id":51984201777491,"sku":"XE80241998076","price":9.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0616\/4001\/6057\/files\/conor-niland-the-racket-9780241998076-1155472719.jpg?v=1758902524"},{"product_id":"sara-baume-heart-on-my-sleeve-2026","title":"Heart on My Sleeve [2026]","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER AT THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Fascinating - a great read' - Miriam O'Callaghan\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Brilliant, absolutely terrific' - Matt Cooper\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith a foreword by Richie Sadlier\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the heartbreak of losing his mother to breast cancer at just 12 years old, to battling mental health struggles throughout his teens, Andrew Porter's journey is one of extraordinary resilience. 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