SAD NEWS: according to Ronnie O’Sullivan; he has stopped playing snooker!!…
It’s a “horrible murky world,” according to Ronnie O’Sullivan, and it scares him away from playing snookers.
He may be the grand master of the billiard world, but Ronnie O’Sullivan admits there are parts of the snooker world which leaves him frightened…
Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan said he is trying to stay positive, despite being hampered by a form of the yips.
The 2023-24 season was one of the greatest in the Rocket’s career, as he won Triple Crown events at the UK Championships and the Masters, while also emerging victorious at the World Grand Prix, Shanghai Masters and World Masters of Snooker. However, the 48-year-old revealed he has been terrorised by the yips, an involuntary spasm of the wrist which often occurs with those who play golf, cricket, darts and baseball.
O’Sullivan has been battling against the mental condition since 2011, when he started working with respected sports psychiatrist, Steve Peters. Shortly after he defeated Gary Wilson to reach the final of the Tour Championship, the World No.1 was adamant that he will not let himself get downtrodden by the condition.
“I am just trying really hard to not get down on myself,” O’Sullivan told ITV Sport. “It is hard but I am trying to change my mindset.
“It is not easy, but maybe two weeks ago I’d have mentally thrown in the towel because I was not flowing but I just thought keep going, keep going and focus on the positives that might be around the corner.”
When asked about Peters’ impact, he added: “I’ve been speaking to him every day, three times a day, sometimes four times a day. I have just got to commit to it now for a good year to try and get myself out of this hole I have got myself in mentally, with the obsession with the game and tinkering.
“I know I am never going to stop tinkering but I have to somehow get my head strong enough to be able to deal with it and not go too deep into the horrible murky world. Golfers, tennis players, snooker players, darts, we all do it.
“I went so deep into it it is like detoxing myself from it. It is not going to happen straight away so if I want to get out of it I have got to put the work in. It has kind of felt like I had the yips, mentally, physically, you get scared to want to go and play and that is not a nice place to be.
“There is nothing left to do other than get myself out of it and hopefully my game will start to flow again.” O’Sullivan will face one of Mark Williams and Mark Allen in the final for the grand prize of £380,000.