Ronnie O’Sullivan picks out two snooker stars and calls for ‘doctor’s surgery’ at every single tournament
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has called for doctors to be at every snooker tournament in a frank discussion about mental health.
The Rocket has been open about his struggles with addiction and depression in the past.
O’Sullivan pulled out of the Welsh Open last week citing “stage fright brought on by anxiety” as his reason for not taking part.
And now he has called for more support to be on offer for the stars playing in the high pressure tournaments.
The 48-year-old was on Eurosport when old rival Anthony McGill explained that he struggles with the mental side of his game.
McGill said: “I just hate the way I play snooker, it’s just so slow all the time and I don’t like it.
“I don’t do it on purpose, it’s just because I doubt myself. It’s up there [pointing to his head]. It’s a tough game between the ears.”
O’Sullivan then weighed in on the conversation making it clear that he thinks the game of snooker takes a toll on most players’ mental health.
He explained: “You can play with a broken foot, a broken arm, but if your head’s bad you can forget trying to play this game,
“Sometimes you might get away with it but temperament is everything.
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“The game gets to all of us. It’s the most frustrating game on the planet without a doubt.”
The seven-time world champion went on to explain that very few players are able to breeze through a snooker match without getting frustrated – singling out to stars as the exception to the rule.
He said: “If you ask all 128 players if they struggle with it most of the time, the answer would probably be yes.
“Maybe with the odd exception of John Higgins and Neil Robertson who are so good technically that they might have less frustrating days. It’s just the nature of the beast.”
But despite there being players who are able to stay headstrong through the high intensity competitions, O’Sullivan still thinks the sport would benefit from on-site doctors.
He explained: “You’d do well to get a doctor in for every tournament,
“Have his little surgery around the corner and any player that felt like they were in a bad place could go in there for 10 or 15 minutes.
“Sometimes that’s all you need, someone who knows what you’re going through, who understands the difficulties of the game.
“Get it off your chest, it wasn’t that bad, let’s go again tomorrow. I have full respect for this game and the players who plays it.”