Conor Niland, whose highest career ranking was 43, transitioned to commercial property after tennis and authored the memoir The Racket, which won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award in 2024. He began his new career around age 31, finding the office environment and its technology unfamiliar. Through candid reflections, he highlights the wide disparity in tennis earnings, noting the wealth of a few elite players contrasted with many who earn very little, including his own earnings of approximately €247,000 during his playing career, which he deemed insufficient for long-term security.
"We have billionaires in our sport," he says. "The likes of Roger Federer and Serena Williams, who are able to earn incredible money after they finish their [careers]. True sporting icons, not just tennis icons."
"I definitely reconciled with myself at a certain period of my career that I was unlikely to be coming out of this with a pension and a nest egg and an awful lot of money."
"I started in commercial property at 31, 32... All that stuff was new to me. Everything about the working world - even the office printer and scanner - was new to me."
"During my career, Niland earned approximately €247,000 over the course of seven or eight years. Not a lot of money," he notes, while speaking candidly about his decision to call time on his playing career at a young age.
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