Fans are all saying the same thing after Ronnie O'Sullivan withdraws from tournament hours before match

Ronnie O'Sullivan has pulled out of the British Open hours before he was due to play his first round match.

'The Rocket' was drawn to take on Thai player Manasawin Phetmalaikui, who is currently ranked 116th in snooker's Order of Merit, on Monday evening.

But O'Sullivan has decided to play no part in the tournament. It is unclear as to when he informed World Snooker about his decision.

The likes of Judd Trump, Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy are all in action in Cheltenham, with O'Sullivan being the first high-profile withdrawal of the tournament.

In recent years, the seven-time world champion has often withdrawn from tournaments in order to manage his schedule.

But he hasn't played at the British Open since it returned to the calendar in 2021 - he lost in the qualifiers in 2022 - with fans saying the same thing after hearing news of his absence.

One wrote: "Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrawing from the British Open is not a surprise - he never plays there."

A second said: "Welcome move. Ronnie needs to stay away for some time and take a break."

And a third wrote: "There's usually a tinge of sadness when he withdraws from a tournament, but not this time."

Speaking to SPORTbible earlier this month during the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, O'Sullivan admitted that his recent performances have been 'exhausting' and that he was lacking confidence in his game.

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He said: "I don't actually gain confidence from winning, because if I would I'd be probably the most confident man on the planet.

"Last year I won five tournaments. I don't know how, but it hasn't given me any confidence because I wasn't playing with any confidence.

"I was playing just to compete, to never give in. And that's tiring. It's a bit exhausting. It's not the way I want to play.

"It's more about the fluency, the composure, the cue action, the smoothness of getting through the ball. All of those sorts of things are really more important to me than winning tournaments."