RONNIE O’SULLIVAN’S time out from competitive snooker will continue this month after he pulled out of the British Open.
The seven-time world champion was due to face Sanderson Lam in a heldover qualifying match next Monday.
Ronnie O’sullivan has withdrawn from the British OpenGETTY
The seven-time world champion’s hiatus will continue due to medical reasonsGETTY
However, it has been announced that he has withdrawn for medical reasons.
It follows his absence from the English Open in Brentwood, Essex, which started yesterday.
The exact medical issues O’Sullivan is experiencing are currently unknown.
The sport’s greatest cueist has been replaced in the draw by Daniel Womersley, who is the highest available player from the 2025 Q School ranking list.
The tournament takes place at Cheltenham Racecourse and runs from September 22-28.
And there is a cool £100,000 prize for the winner.
It has an FA Cup-style system where players are picked from a hat before every round.
O’Sullivan – who turns 50 in December – is at the stage of his life where he will pick and choose his events.
‘I’d rather not have the snooker, just a normal family’ – Inside Ronnie O’Sullivan’s troubled childhood
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has enjoyed an incredible career as snooker’s biggest star.
But the Rocket’s turbulent past has led to struggles with mental health, addiction and yo-yo weight battles.
O’Sullivan’s parents ran a chain of sex shops in Essex and his father was jailed for 20 years for murder when he was just 16.
In the Amazon documentary The Edge of Everything, the snooker icon admitted his dad going to prison had a profound effect.
He said: “I didn’t want to blame everything on that situation with my dad, but I was thinking, ‘I’d rather not have the snooker. just a normal family’. Because… It was a dream, but looking back, it was a nightmare.”
Just a year later, Ronnie became the youngest ever UK Champion, seven days before his 18th birthday. Then at 19, in 1994, he became the youngest Masters champion.
But he has already begun to binge on drink and drugs and, when his mum was sent to prison for tax evasion, in 1996, he struggled to cope with looking after his eight–year-old sister alone.
It is a huge disappointment for UK fans that he is not available – and Matchroom’s chairman Eddie Hearn says in a new Netflix series that the player’s absence affects the TV ratings.
So far this year, he has played in the Shanghai Masters – where he lost in the quarter-finals to Kyren Wilson.
He was one frame away from winning the Saudi Arabia Masters – and scooping £500,000 – as he lost 10-9 to Australian Neil Robertson in Jeddah.
The former world No1 did not play in the Wuhan Open and a decision has yet to be taken about the Xi’an Grand Prix.
His next appearance in the UK could be in Belfast next month for the Northern Ireland Open – he was recently in the country for exhibitions.
Or it could be the Champion of Champions in Leicester in November, should he qualify.
The chances for UK fans to watch him live are few and far between these days as he prioritises his mental wellbeing.
News of O’Sullivan’s withdrawal from the tournament came just hours after he gave snooker fans a glimpse at his fitness regime.
REUTERRonnie O’Sullivan is clearly and wisely prioritising his well-being these days[/caption]
Exercise is so important to me. Not just for the body, but for my mindset too.
Ronnie O’Sullivan on Instgram
O’Sullivan, who ditched nearly two stone in weight during lockdown when he reignited his passion for running, posted a video of himself working out to his Instagram page.
The Rocket shared a clip of himself performing a series of gruelling stability and strength exercises, including impressive stiff-leg dumbbell deadlifts and dumbbell squat presses.
And the British sporting icon, who has relocated to Dubai from Essex, underlined the importance of exercise for his mental and physical wellbeing in his accompanying caption.
He wrote: “Exercise is so important to me. Not just for the body, but for my mindset too.”
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