Ronnie O’Sullivan withdraws from Scottish Open due to medical reasons

The 48-year-old world No 1 had been due to face Liam Graham in the opening round

Ronnie O’Sullivan is the most successful player in snooker history (PA)

Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the BetVictor Scottish Open citing medical reasons.

The 48-year-old world No 1, who earlier this month won a record-extending eighth UK Championship title in York, had been due to face Liam Graham in the opening round, but Graham will now receive a bye.

O’Sullivan is a two-time winner of the Scottish Open, beating John Higgins in the 1998 final and seeing off Mark Williams two years later.

He was runner-up to Mark Selby in 2020, losing the final 9-5.

Although his 10-7 win over Ding Junhui in the UK Championship final made the seven-time world champion both the youngest and oldest ever winner of the competition, O’Sullivan has recently had issues away from the table.

He withdrew from the Champion of Champions tournament in November, saying he was “mentally feeling a bit drained and stressed” after taking part in the International Championship in China.

O’Sullivan admitted after the UK Championship that he was not sure how much longer he would continue to compete.

“I don’t know [how long I’ll continue],” said O’Sullivan, who is set to target an eighth Masters title in January. “I don’t really want to put a number on it.

Ronnie O’Sullivan added an eighth UK Championship to his collection in November (PA Wire)

“I think [I’ll continue] as long as my sponsors keep supporting me and I don’t fall off the tour. If I did fall off the tour it would be nice to get a wildcard off World Snooker to keep playing, but you never know, they might give me a knockback as usual.

“I just keep playing. As long as they want me to keep playing I’ll play. But they sent me a letter the other week saying they want me to consider my future on the tour, I don’t know what’s going through their heads at the moment.

“I’ll just keep potting balls and trying my best and hopefully sense prevails somewhere along the line.”

PA