Ronnie O'Sullivan pulls out of the Scottish Open for 'medical reasons'

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Ronnie O’Sullivan pulls out of the Scottish Open just hours before his opening round match due to ‘medical reasons’

  • Ronnie O’Sullivan was due to compete in this week’s Scottish Open in Edinburgh
  • The seven-time world champion has pulled out due to ‘medical reasons’ 

World No1 Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the Scottish Open for ‘medical reasons’.

O’Sullivan was due to face Liam Cameron in the opening round later today, but will no longer compete in the Edinburgh event. The specific ‘medical reason’ for his absence is yet to be stated.

O’Sullivan’s decision to withdraw from the tournament comes just over a week after he won a record eighth UK Championship by beating China’s Ding Junhui 10-7 in the final.

Prior to his run to the trophy, the 48-year-old hinted that he could skip the Scottish Open to focus on a lucrative event in China over the Christmas period as he looks to manage his schedule.

He said: ‘I’m looking forward to a break. I think I have to monitor my schedule a lot, and I just think prevention is better than cure and I don’t want to get to the point where I hit a bad spot.

Ronnie O’Sullivan has pulled out of the Scottish Open for ‘medical reasons’

It is not the first tournament O’Sullivan has withdrawn from in recent weeks

His decision to withdraw comes just over a week after he won his eighth UK Championship

‘So, I think for me, it’ll be try to enjoy this tournament [UK Championship], then probably miss Scotland and then go to Macau for Christmas for a big event. I’m looking forward to that. I want to be ready for that, it’s an important event.’

The Scottish Open is the second tournament O’Sullivan has withdrawn from in the past month.

He also pulled out of defending his Champion of Champions title in November due to feeling ‘drained and stressed’.

That call proved a beneficial one, as he looked rejuvenated at the UK Championship on his way to the title.

O’Sullivan opened up about his mental health battles in his documentary The Edge of Everything that tracked his run to World Championship glory last year.

He has made it clear that he is keen to pick and choose his tournaments moving forward in a bid to prolong his glittering career.

The seven-time world champion may also have one eye on snooker’s next major, The Masters, that runs from January 7 to January 14.

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