Ronnie O’Sullivan won’t feature at next week’s Wuhan Open after deciding to withdraw from the 2025 tournament, citing medical reasons.
The Rocket reached the final of last week’s Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, where he was narrowly denied a record-extending 42nd ranking crown by Neil Robertson.
O’Sullivan fought back from 7-2 behind to lead the Australian 9-8 but ultimately lost the last two frames for a deciding-frame defeat in Jeddah.
The disappointment of missing out on glory was tempered by his extraordinary exploits at the Green Halls the day prior.
Against Chris Wakelin in the semi-finals, O’Sullivan produced a best-of-11 performance for the ages that included four total clearances and an incredible two maximum 147 breaks.
The 49 year-old may have missed out on the £500,000 champion’s cheque, but he still took home total earnings of over £380,000 taking into account his runner-up prize and the 147 bonuses.
It had been expected that O’Sullivan would compete again as soon as next week with the 2025 Wuhan Open in China representing the next ranking event on the calendar.
But it was announced on Wednesday that the seven-time world champion has opted to skip that competition, just as he did for last year’s edition.
O’Sullivan was due to face Allan Taylor in a held-over match from the round of 128, but his spot in the Wuhan Open draw will instead be filled by Q School top-up Umut Dikme.
Snooker fans will be hoping that this is a temporary return to his regular no-show act from last season, when he missed a significant chunk of the schedule.
The English Open looks set to be the next opportunity to see Ronnie O’Sullivan in the main draw of an event, with the first leg of the Home Nations series scheduled for the middle of September.
Soon after that, there is the British Open before the circuit will return to China in October for the Xi’an Grand Prix.
The draws for the English Open and Xi’an Grand Prix haven’t been made yet, but O’Sullivan has been paired with Sanderson Lam at the British Open.
Their first-round game is scheduled for the evening of Monday, September 22nd at the Centaur in Cheltenham.
The Wuhan Open, meanwhile, gets under way on Sunday with a top prize of £140,000 up for grabs at Optics Valley Gymnasium of HUST.
Xiao Guodong, who skipped the recent Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in favour of competing at the World Games where he won a gold medal for China, is the reigning champion.
World number one Judd Trump is also a former winner having emerged with the silverware at the inaugural staging of the ranking tournament back in 2023.
Despite his recent early exit at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, Trump is the outright betting favourite to triumph again in Wuhan with odds of around 9/2.
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The likes of Kyren Wilson, Zhao Xintong, John Higgins, Mark Selby, and Neil Robertson are also in the Wuhan Open field this year.
There will be more comprehensive details on the campaign’s next ranking – including the draw and how to watch – published here on SnookerHQ.com later in the week.
Featured photo credit: WST
Neil Robertson and Ryan Day have followed suit. The Australian’s withdrawal means Reanne Evans becomes the second woman, following Ng On Yee earlier this season, to reach the last 32 of a ranking event.
The UK Championship are moving from Leicester to Wigan this season.
Jack Lisowski receives a bye into the last 32 after Day’s withdrawal.