Remember the knee injury that made Roger Federer miss a big part of the 202o season? And the recent forearm injury that made Carlos Alcaraz keep himself out of the tournament in Rome? But would anyone easily get to keep track of the injuries that probably out of 100 ATP rankers incur? Irish former tennis star Conor Niland was the one who brought this issue forward as he navigated through a similar horror that Andy Murray once did.

Besides the victories and setbacks on the tennis court, Niland received worldwide recognition because of his book on a sensitive topic. In his book, The Racket: On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation – and the other 99%, Niland targeted the major differences between the lives of top-ranked players and those lower down the rankings.

The former Irish tennis star’s journey was marred by hip injuries, drawing a parallel to that of Andy Murray. “Murray’s hip injuries, as chronicled in the documentary Resurfacing, had parallels with mine,” he writes. According to him, the resources available to Murray made a difference. “I just didn’t have an indoor pool in my house and a team of trainers on hand as Andy did. I had an endless series of meetings with a sequence of doctors, but I was usually alone. Andy never seemed to be alone.”

Murray’s extensive support system allowed him to take his career forward even after a full hip replacement. Niland’s own surgery, on the contrary, marked a saddening end to his tennis journey. “Andy availed himself of the resources he had access to from being a Wimbledon champion, and has extended his career, playing into his late thirties with a metal hip,” Niland points out in the text.

The differences highlighted by Conor Niland not only presented a genuine POV of a mid-ranked ATP star but also highlighted how even a minor injury can risk their entire career. While there are currently 1814 pro ATP stars as of now, it is evident that only a few of them are privileged enough to receive the required care and attention. However, besides Murray, he also had a bone to pick with Roger Federer.

Conor Niland highlights the difference between his and Roger Federer’s career

The differences between top-ranked and lower-ranked ATP stars extend beyond recovery from injuries. Niland also used his book to highlight how top players are privileged from continuous care. “The top players can afford to hire physiotherapists and strength and conditioning coaches to travel with them, so they are watched over constantly,” the book says.

A renowned example of this is Roger Federer, who retired in 2022 without ever facing the setback of retiring from a match due to an injury in his career. “That is partly because his movement was so smooth – owing to his natural physical gifts and a lot of hard work – but it is also partly rooted in the fact that as his career went on he was always primed and looked after in a way that most of us were not,” Niland notes.

Conor Niland brought the harsh realities faced by lower-ranked players into the spotlight with his book. While the top players receive the best possible medical support, the other side of the tennis world struggles with loneliness, insufficient medical care, and financial constraints.