Ireland’s top tennis player forced to hang up his raquet

It is with heavy heart that we serve up the news that Conor Niland, Ireland’s best known tennis player, has retired from tennis today.

The 30-year-old Limerick man became the first Irish player in over 25 years to make an appearance at Wimbledon, when he battled his way through qualifying before losing an epic five-set match with Adrian Mannarino last year. A victory would have given Niland a shot at the legendary Roger Federer.

Also last year Niland made it through to the US Open proper where he was set to face the world number one Novak Djokovic but food poisoning forced Niland to retire early in a match where he was clearly not feeling well.

Niland, who hit a career high ranking of 129, was forced out of the game with a persistent hip injury but he did collect three ATP Challenger Tour titles and five ITF Futures events in his career.

In a statement today, Niland said: “I am today sadly announcing my retirement from professional tennis. I have been suffering from labral tears in both hip cartilages and this has resulted in pain and restricted movement for the past nine months. Despite several cortisone injections and intensive physiotherapy during this time the condition has progressively worsened and has prevented me from training and competing at the levels required for professional tennis. I have considered the possibility of hip surgery but have been advised of a lengthy recovery time without any guarantee of a successful outcome.

“I would like to thank my family, in particular my parents, for their phenomenal support throughout my tennis career. I would not have been able to achieve the things I did without them”.

Ireland's Davis Cup match against Egypt last Friday was Niland's last appearance on court but we think his appearance at Grand Slam events brought interest in the game to new heights here so we hope he inspired some kids to take up the game and try to follow in his footsteps.That will be his legacy.

Enjoy your retirement Conor.