‘I hate letting people down’ – Ronnie O’Sullivan issues apology and explains last-minute decision

Ronnie O’Sullivan has apologised to fans following his withdrawal from this week’s Welsh Open.

The Rocket has not played since pulling out of the Championship League last month, where he lost three of his four matches.

His frustration boiled over during a defeat to Robert Milkins and after missing a routine shot, O’Sullivan snapped his cue.

He later withdrew from the Masters at Alexandra Palace and the German Masters in Berlin before pulling out of the Welsh Open less than 24 hours before his scheduled first-round match.

The seven-time world champion has since been the target of stinging criticism from fans who had bought tickets to watch him play, only to be let down by his absence.

But now, O’Sullivan, who has withdrawn from six tournaments this season, has broken his silence and released a statement to fans regarding his current situation.

In the declaration posted on social media platform, X, O’Sullivan told fans of his annoyance at letting them down but revealed that he was prioritising his health and wellbeing.

His statement read: “I realise plenty of people who bought tickets to some recent snooker events will have been frustrated when I withdrew, so I just wanted to say sorry to those of you who’ve been disappointed with me having to pull out of those tournaments.

“I’ve been trying to prioritise my health and well-being, which sometimes means making last-minute decisions not to play. It’s never an easy decision and I hate letting people down.

“I’m doing what I can to get back to my best, and I’m grateful for all your support and understanding.”

O’Sullivan is scheduled to take on Stuart Carrington at the World Open in China on February 23 but it remains uncertain as to whether he will take part.

The Rocket previously discussed his reason for withdrawing from the Masters last month claiming exhaustion had played a part in the decision.

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“It was a nightmare decision really to make, if you’d have asked me Sunday if I was ready to play I’d probably have been ok to play. But it’s such a massive tournament,” he told Eurosport.

“I’d been on a three-week trip away playing and I just think I exhausted myself, a lot of pressure while I was away. The build-up of all that just got a bit too much really.

“I lost the plot on Thursday, snapped my cue, so that’s unplayable, so I knew at that moment in time the right decision was to not play and such a big tournament that I thought whoever was to come in should have had at least a couple of days notice.”

Asked about the moment he snapped his cue, O’Sullivan said: “It was in the bin, one of them wheelie bins, but my mate said we can’t leave that here, so he got it out and brought it with us.

“I’ve got a couple of other cues that I can start practicing with because there’s some tournaments coming up. I’m going to continue to play so I need to get used to the cue now.”

O’Sullivan had been due to play Jamie Clarke in this week’s opening round at Llandudno however the 49-year-old’s withdrawal saw Clarke handed a bye into the second round.

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Speaking about O’Sullivan’s decision to pull out of the match, Clarke told the BBC: “Yeah I think there was [disappointment], when I got the phone call this morning.

“You don’t get many chances to play Ronnie. He picks and chooses his events, and rightly so. I was probably more happy than not happy, but it would have been nice to play him.”