Ronnie O’Sullivan suffered a shocked World Snooker Championship exit against Zhao Xintong at the semi-final stage at the Crucible and has claimed his retirement might be on the horizon
Ronnie O’Sullivan has claimed he could retire in two years after being left baffled at his world championship exit. The Rocket exited the competition at the semi-final stage against Zhao Xintong, losing 17-7 on Friday evening.
It was a very difficult outing for the seven-time world champion as he failed to reach the final and thus win a record-extending title. O’Sullivan’s Crucible exit was another tricky chapter across what has been a very difficult 2025, with the 49-year-old having barely taken to the table across the calendar year.
And speaking after his latest defeat, he has set a deadline of 2027 to fix the problems currently blighting his game or otherwise hang up his cue for good. He said: “I have lost what I used to have. I’m so confused. It feels really a struggle. I don’t know if it was me, the cue tip or the ferrule. I didn’t know where the white ball was going.
“I tried something different. I tried to go back to the old brass ferrule. I have been playing like that in practice. It’s hard to get my head around. I can’t even fix it, that’s the problem, I don’t know if I can fix it.
“I want to give it two years but if you play like that, it’s pretty pointless. It’s not good. I have been like that for four years, trying to grind it out. I haven’t had a clue where the cue ball was going. I have been willing it in the hole.
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“I don’t know how to correct the fault. That is the worrying thing. I am so far away – I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve been awful for quite a while. I never gave him a game and that is disappointing.”
Asked about what went wrong, O’Sullivan sadly admitted that he was powerless to find the answers. He however claimed that his current struggles allow him to reflect more positively on the glittering career that he has enjoyed so far.
He added: “I just felt really disappointed that I couldn’t do anything. It’s not a nice feeling. Maybe I took a few things for granted in the past, maybe it was a bit easy.
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“I didn’t realise how easy it was, took it for granted. I’m probably a bit more proud of what I’ve done – because I’m going through a struggle.”
It appears that O’Sullivan is now keen to put his latest exit behind him. The Rocket had been providing punditry for TNT Sports during the tournament either side of his matches.
Asked live on air if he would be sticking around, he had an emphatic answer. He said: “I won’t be there for the rest of this tournament. I’ll be going home now.”
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