When Conor Niland released a memoir looking back on his story as a tennis professional who never quite cracked the top 100 in the rankings, he didn't imagine it would lead to his proudest moment in the sport.

As Ireland's finest tennis player of his generation, Niland reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 129 in December 2010, with some notable highlights in his career mixed with plenty of stories of near misses.

His match against Novak Djokovic in the first round of the 2011 US Open on Arthur Ashe Stadium court would have been a moment to cherish had he not been struck down by an untimely bout of food poisoning in the hours before.

A year earlier, he was a couple of games away from securing a second round match against Roger Federer at Wimbledon until he lost against a young Adrian Mannarino in a five-set thriller at the All England Club.

His playing days may be over, but Ireland's Davis Cup captain has now enjoyed arguably the biggest win of his tennis career after his book The Racket claimed the prestigious 2024 William Hill Book of the Year prize last month.

Niland's reflections on his time playing in some lower-ranking ITF events tell a story of a very different era for the sport, with limited prize money and the costs of funding a career a source of constant pressure for players.

While these concerns still exist for many players ranked outside the top 100, huge improvements on the ITF World Tennis Tour have changed the landscape dramatically in recent years and Niland hopes the current generation are living a different life on the tour.

"We need to make the players feel like real pros even if they are not playing at Wimbledon or the bigger tournaments," he said.

"That means getting picked up at the airport when they land for a tournament, getting the hospitality and not having to fork out for every little thing when you get there.

"It's not just about the money and the cost of travelling to play in these tournaments. It's about feeling a part of the sport and hopefully the improvements we have seen with organisation and prize money are making it easier for players ranked outside the top 100 to get the best out of their careers.

"Qualifying prize money for Grand Slam events has increased dramatically since my time in the sport and having more ITF tournaments to play without the need to travel for extended periods and run up costs is hugely helpful.

"I'm hearing good things about tournaments like the women's event in Shrewsbury in October and if events like that start setting the standards, every nation will be eager to follow that lead."

The drive to filter money down to the lower levels of the sport has long been a challenge, so the significant enhancements being introduced to the ITF World Tennis Tour for 2025 is another step forward in this mission.

Prize money at the two entry-level categories is set to be raised to provide an additional $5m (26% increase) to improve player earning potential, with prize money at W15/M15 tournaments set to increase from $15,000 to $20,000.

At W35/M25 tournaments, prize money is increasing from $25,000 to $30,000, with mandatory hospitality set to be provided at W100, W75 and W50 women's events (at least 150 tournaments, up from 25 in 2024) to help with player costs. Prize money at W75 tournaments will increase from $60,000 to $70,000.

Next year will also see a fourth consecutive year of prize money records for women ($20.7m, up from $15m in 2022), and a third consecutive year for men ($14.6m, up from $10m in 2022).

With prize money, hospitality and the number of nations hosting tournaments on World Tennis Tour events increasing each year, Niland is now hoping to see a top-level event come to his home nation.

The Irish capital, Dublin, hosted W15 and M15 tournaments in August, with Niland suggesting the addition of a higher-level tournament in Ireland would boost interest among fans and give local players a chance to earn valuable ranking points.

A sell-out crowd in Limerick for the Davis Cup tie against an Austria team featuring former US Open champion Dominic Thiem last February suggests the appetite is there for live tennis in Ireland and Niland is keen that hope can turn to reality.

"I would like to see a high-level tour event in Ireland," he added. "It would be amazing to have a big grass court event here ahead of Wimbledon that we could build up over a period of time.

"It would give us something in the calendar to say we have world-class tennis being played in Ireland. We could give wildcards to some of our top players and it would be a stepping stone to people thinking about tennis in Ireland. So if you give me a magic wand, that's what I would want to see.

"I've not run the numbers on this to see if it is financially viable, but is there a sponsor out there who may want to get behind a big female sporting event in Ireland? I would like to think it is possible.

"Every other country in western Europe seems to be able to get one or two big tournaments each year, so I'd love to see it happen in Ireland."

The success of Niland's wonderfully engaging book has given tennis in Ireland a big publicity boost and he will not be alone in hoping a top-tier ITF World Tennis Tour event lands in his country over the next few years.