蜜芽传媒

What is life really like for most professional players in the seemingly glamorous world of tennis? Short answer: insecure, lonely, and poorly paid. As a junior Conor played against Roger Federer and Venus and Serena Williams. As an adult he played against Novak Djokovic and competed at Wimbledon. He was Ireland's number one player and ranked 129 in the world. But behind the scenes Conor was scrabbling around on the Futures and Challenger tours where the prize money barely covered his expenses. He was constantly travelling and often struggled to make friends with players from other national teams as he was the only Irish player on tour. Climbing the global ranks could feel desperately lonely. But the support from his parents kept him going - even when he would have rather stopped. Conor has written a book about his experience called The Racket: on tour with tennis' golden generation and the other 99%.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: May Cameron

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(Photo: Conor Niland returns a shot to number one seed Novak Djokovic during a Men's singles match at the US Open tennis tournament in 2011. Credit: STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images)