Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the British Open due to ‘medical reasons’ on the day of his slated first-round clash with Manasawin Phetmalaikul. Fans flocking to Cheltenham will be left disappointed by the Rocket’s absence in an otherwise star-studded field.
News of O’Sullivan’s withdrawal emerged shortly before the first batch of matches got underway today (Monday) when eagle-eyed supporters spotted that the seven-time world champion had been replaced by Lewis Ullah on the tournament schedule.
O’Sullivan has only played in the British Open once since it returned to the snooker calendar in 2021. And he will leave it to the likes of Kyren Wilson, Judd Trump and defending champion Mark Williams to battle it out for the £100,000 top prize.
Following his short-notice withdrawal in the same week as his reported split from long-term partner Laila Rouass, O’Sullivan is next expected to be in action at the Wuhan Open on October 6. The 48-year-old has had a busy few weeks competing at the Xi’an Grand Prix, the Saudi Arabia Masters and the English Open.
Things did not go to plan for O’Sullivan last time out in Brentwood, where he suffered a 4-2 defeat against underdog He Guoqiang in the opening round. Afterwards, the world No. 4 dropped the latest in a long line of retirement hints.
“I’m awful, it’s embarrassing,” he said. “I miss so many balls. I can’t get away from it, poor, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ve been missing balls for the last four or five years and every now and then I’ll miss a few less, maybe, and get a couple of results.
“I’m absolutely useless. Forget about the Worlds. I’m not even bothered to be honest with you, if I’m going to play rubbish I might as well play left-handed. Play left-handed and enjoy it, but be useless, or play right-handed, be useless and not enjoy it.
“I haven’t got long, I’m not going to deny it, I’m not playing well enough, there’s no point in even worrying about it. I’ve just accepted it now which is quite a nice place to be really.”
With a trip to Chinese city Wuhan up next, O’Sullivan will return to one of the countries he enjoys playing in most. “Some of the tournaments in the UK don’t feel special,” he said at the end of last year. “For me, I want to play in the best tournaments with the best crowds.
“I feel like I get more support and people like me better here in Asia than they do in my own country. If you like me, it makes me feel good, so I come and play here more. In the UK, I don’t seem to get the same support.”
