Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from next week’s British Open for medical reasons, the World Snooker Tour has confirmed.
The seven-time world champion was due to face Mateusz Baranowski in his opening match at the Centaur in Cheltenham on Monday next week.
However, O’Sullivan will now be replaced in the draw by Mark Joyce. It is the fourth consecutive year that O’Sullivan has withdrawn from the random-draw tournament.
The news comes shortly after the 50-year-old suffered a 6-3 defeat to Chang Bingyu in the semi-finals of the 2026 Wuhan Open on Friday.
Chasing a first ranking title since early in 2024, O’Sullivan had enjoyed a somewhat encouraging run in Wuhan that included a 5-3 quarter-final victory over recent China Open champion Mark Selby.
Yet the Englishman had been repeatedly critical of his own performances throughout the tournament.
He struggled badly during his semi-final against Chang, attempting a number of highly ambitious pots and becoming visibly frustrated when he missed relatively straightforward opportunities.
O’Sullivan was similarly downbeat afterwards and admitted that he continues to be troubled by the problems that have affected his game for several years.
“The disease came back big-time today,” he said. “If I’m honest, I don’t think I will ever get over it. I will see out the next 18 months and see how we go.”
“I don’t want to throw the towel in just yet. I’ve committed to playing until then. I want to give myself a chance. I’d hate to finish my career on performances like that.”
O’Sullivan had spoken at length about his struggles earlier in the week, despite progressing through the draw.
Following his last-32 victory over Yao Pengcheng, he said he simply missed being able to play to the standard he expects of himself.
“I just miss playing well,” O’Sullivan told the World Snooker Tour. “I don’t care whether it is when I’m practicing or when I’m on the match table.”
“I’ll tell you if I have [played well], and if I’ve not then I’m sad I haven’t. Before I might have gone one or two months without doing it.
“But to go four years without hitting the ball well is far too long for any human to take, hitting poor shot after poor shot.”
O’Sullivan has also pulled out of the English Open, where he was scheduled to meet Liam Davies in the opening round.
His latest withdrawals means his next appearance on the World Snooker Tour could come at the Shenzhen Open toward the end of September.
Chang, meanwhile, will progress to the 2026 Wuhan Open final where he will bid to claim his maiden ranking crown.
The 24 year-old will contest an all-Chinese clash against either incoming world number one Zhao Xintong or reigning champion Xiao Guodong.
Featured photo credit: WST
