Ronnie O'Sullivan has revealed that advice from 12-time women's world champion Reanne Evans has helped transform his game and rekindle his enjoyment of snooker. The seven-time world champion endured a difficult 2023/24 season, snapping his cue and withdrawing from multiple tournaments, including the Masters.
O'Sullivan told Metro that Evans approached him a year ago and said he was 'not the player he was'. Initially dismissive, he later reviewed old videos and realised she was correct about his approach to shots. 'I've tried to sort of unlearn that,' he said. 'It's not easy, but I feel like I'm on the right track.'
The Rocket's form has improved this season, reaching the Saudi Arabia Masters final where he lost 10-9 to Neil Robertson. In the semi-finals, he compiled two maximum 147 breaks in his win over Chris Wakelin. He also performed well at the Shanghai Masters, despite not winning a title since March 2024.
O'Sullivan, who moved to Dubai over the summer, is now playing with a new cue and feels his performances have been consistently good. 'I've played seven matches and I've played seven good matches,' he said. 'Whereas when I won five tournaments in that season, I might have played seven good matches in the whole year.'
He plans to play at the Xi'an Grand Prix, International Championship in Nanjing, and the UK Championship in York. However, he told talkSPORT he may skip the Masters in January to keep his schedule light. 'I probably won't play the Masters this year,' he said. 'I think I'm just going to play the UK Championship, hopefully the Tour Championship, then the World Championship.'
