Former Irish tennis professional Conor Niland has won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2024 with his memoir, The Racket, ghostwritten by the 42 sports journalist Gavin Cooney.
“I’m floating. I can’t believe it. I felt like the The Racket could have a chance, but to actually win the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award is just amazing,” he said after the announcement in London.
“Tennis is something that gets quite serious quite early. It becomes your identity and you’re always defined by the number of your ranking. I hope this book helps young players and parents to understand the reality of tennis.”
“The perception of tennis is that people tune in for the four Grand Slams and see it all to be big cheques and strawberries and cream. But for all the guys lower down the rankings, grinding it out to make it there, it is a lot more difficult.”
“I was fortunate enough to be just outside the top 100 so I caught glimpses of the very top, but I also spent a lot of time lower down the rankings which is why I was able to show both sides of the story in this book.”
“I was only able to really move on from that when I was writing the book. I used to think about my Wimbledon loss every day. That happens less and less since writing this book and I’m just over the moon with what this book turned out to be.”
Flying the flag for Ireland
The Racket becomes the first tennis book to clinch the world’s longest established and most valuable literary sports-writing prize in its history and Niland is the first author from the Republic of Ireland to win since Paul Kimmage with Rough Ride: Behind the Wheel with a Pro Cyclist 34 years ago.
“There haven’t been many Irish people to win the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, so it really is a dream come true to fly the flag for Ireland.
“I’ve loved some of the William Hill winners of the past, they’re some of my favourite books. They’re also books that stick around, and I wasn’t sure whether this book would last a summer, or six months, but having won this award, I hope it sticks around a little bit longer.”
Diverse shortlist
Niland’s memoir was crowned the winner by a judging panel comprised of chair Alyson Rudd, Clarke Carlisle, Gabby Logan, Dame Heather Rabbatts, Mark Lawson and Michelle Walder. In addition to the prestigious trophy, Niland also claims the winning £30,000 prize.
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