Four days to go, and if you’re still scooting around the shops, searching for gifts, then the easiest route out of that hellscape is probably by reverting to the old reliable: just buy them a book. For those wired into the world of sport, 2024 has thankfully thrown up some outstanding offerings, especially close to home. These are some of the best in class.
The Racket – by Conor Niland and Gavin Cooney (Penguin) There’s no other place to start than with this outstanding insight into the life of a professional tennis player, one who was very good but fell a long way short of being great. Getting Niland’s story on the shelves was a gamble for all concerned but it paid off in spectacular fashion when it recently claimed the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. It was full value for that win.
The sports literary genre is dominated by champions, many of whom churn out box-ticking autobiographies that offer only a surface-level insight into their sport or psyche. But Niland goes much deeper, taking us along for a warts-and-all look at just how difficult it is for those operating just outside the truly elite echelon of tennis. The Limerick man collaborated with Gavin Cooney – one of Ireland’s most skilled sports writers – to explain the ruthless hierarchy in the sport which reveals itself in hundreds of little ways, from differing handshakes to hotel rooms.
Much of it makes for hilarious, highly engaging reading. At times you wonder just who’d sign up for all .
