O’Sullivan caught Hendry off-guard with an honest admission over his future in the game
Ronnie O’Sullivan on Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips podcast
Ronnie O’Sullivan says if it wasn’t for his involvement in China and Saudi Arabia, he’d retire from snooker tomorrow. And the honesty from the seven-time world champion left fellow snooker great Stephen Hendry lost for words.
O’Sullivan, who matched Hendry’s longstanding record when he won his seventh world title in 2022, has been picky over what major tournaments he’s played at in recent years and has already revealed he won’t be playing at The Masters at Alexandra Palace in early 2026.
He was involved in the UK Championships but went out early on to Chinese non-seed Zhou Yuelong in the first round.
The 50-year-old no longer lives in the UK after emigrating to Dubai and has opened the Ronnie O’Sullivan Snooker Academy in Saudi Arabia. He’s also been heavily involved in the growth of snooker in China which has recently seen Zhao Xingtong win the World Championship while Wu Yize recently won his first ranking title at the International Championship.
And, if it wasn’t for those factors, O’Sullivan says he’d never pick his cue up again.
Speaking on Hendry’s Cue Tips podcast, he said: “I don’t have the hunger I used to have. But being part of this academy (in Saudi Arabia), there’s some good opportunities in China, and it relies on me getting my cue out of my case.
“I couldn’t do complete retirement and expect to still get (opportunities).
Ronnie O’Sullivan speaks with Stephen Hendry(Image: Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips)
“You can’t do both exhibitions and tournaments. Having to say hello to people, sign autographs and then go to tournaments.
“If this academy shut down tomorrow and China told me ‘we don’t want to do anything with you’, I’d never pick my cue up again.”
Hendry was visibly taken aback by that statement and O’Sullivan explained: “I’d go and do something else. But it relies on me to play a bit and show my face. At the moment I’m enjoying playing, I’ve enjoyed it more in the last six months since the start of the season than I have in the past ten years.
“I’m wishing I could play a bit more but I don’t want to be travelling too much either. Hopefully next year and the year after I’ll play a bit more.
“Snooker’s a bit of a time-passer I suppose. You’ve got to kill a bit of time!”
