There is a basic "problem" with most of the individual sports (tennis, golf, boxing, etc.) on a professional level. The top players receive most of the attention.
The average golf fan who watches the tour regularly on television might know the top 50 players on the PGA Tour. Tennis even is more limited in terms of publicity. The percentage of "upsets" in the major tournament is rather low, as the top seeds usually move gracefully through the draw to the final round. That leaves much of the field destined to wallow in relatively obscurity.
We know that there are tons of players out there who are really, really good at these sports, but they simply can't compete with the world's very best for one reason or another. For the most part, they compete in what Americans might call "minor league" events, such as the Challenger events in tennis or the Korn Ferry tour in golf. Those players probably are indistinguishable from anyone on the tours above them except for the top 30 in those sports.So they play before small crowds and smaller prizes, hoping for a break that will put them within shouting distance of a bit of glory and money.
Conor Niland was one of those players. The Pride of Irish Tennis got his world ranking up to 129 at one point, which is quite an accomplishment in the grand scheme of the sport. But he was in a different world than names like Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and he explains what that world is like very nicely in his book, "The Racket."
Niland grew up in Ireland and became one of the top junior players in the country. Now, to be fair, that's not the same as being one of the top junior players in the United States. There are fewer benefits to having that status in a small country not known for tennis. He competed in some international events, but wasn't dominating. Niland had to decide between turning pro and taking a college scholarship at Cal-Berkeley. He opted for the sure thing of college, since he just didn't know if he'd be good enough.
Niland had some NCAA success and decided to try his luck on the pro circuit. The difference between him and Federer become pretty obvious. Roger had an entourage around him at all times, so he didn't have to worry about coaching and nutrition and medical treatment and equipment at any point. Conor was lucky to have a coach around him at times. As the young players chase points in order to climb the world rankings and thus earn a chance to play for more money in better tournaments, they must overcome horrible travel, high expenses, and the lack of medical supervision at an instant. In Niland's case, it didn't help that he was behind the eight-ball in a sense because of college; the ones who went straight to the pros were used to the lifestyle at the same age and better equipped to deal with it.
It's not a spoiler to say Niland slowly climbed up the ladder a bit, and it's not a surprise to say that all the hours on the court took a toll on his body. His hips eventually started to give him problems, and he was out of tennis by 2012. Conor eventually moved into coaching in Ireland, where he still is no doubt admired by his countrymen and countrywomen for showing the world that an Irishman can compete on some big stages.
It helps quite a bit that Niland is a good writer. He expresses himself quite well, and tells his story with honesty and good humor. That makes the pages go by quickly, and the reader quickly starts hoping for successes for him.
The obvious unanswered question that might come up here is: what took him? Niland retired in 2012, so it took him about 12 years to finish his tennis autobiography. It's hard to know - and it would be helpful to know - if the landscape has changed at all since he retired. On the other hand, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were in their primes during Niland's years on the tour, and Djokovic was making it a Big Three. The amount of contact between Niland and the all-time greats is very limited, but their occasional appearance does grab one's attention. A few photos of those days would have been good too.
My favorite tennis book of all time is Andre Agassi's autobiography. "The Racket" isn't quite at that level, but it's not far behind on that list. You probably won't find a better description of what it's like to be close but not touching the top of a sport for individuals.
Four stars
Learn more about this book from Amazon.com. (As an Amazon affiliate, I earn money from qualified purchases.)
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