Ronnie O’Sullivan retirement plan as World Championship farewell set | Other | Sport

Ronnie O’Sullivan believes 2028 may well be the year he ultimately retires from snooker – if he drops out of the top 16. The 50-year-old has admitted he is beginning to feel every single month and year of his age.

He got his 35th consecutive snooker campaign off to an emphatic start at the Shanghai Masters, overcoming 18-year-old Chinese wildcard Liu Linhao 6-1. O’Sullivan’s ranking has plummetted to No14 in the world and if he sinks to No16, he will have to qualify himself for next year’s World Snooker Championship. The seven-time world champion is still level with Stephen Hendry and he is desperate to break the record. However, even O’Sullivan admits time is not on his side.

Speaking after his victory in China, O’Sullivan said: “I’m glad I’m at the end of my career and I don’t have to face these young Chinese talents much. Because they’re just like machines. They’re just phenomenal. I have to be realistic.

“I’m 50 now. I play for two hours and I need to lay down for two or three hours. It’s very hard for me to get going again. This game, alright, you don’t have to run around on a pitch. Mentally, you have to concentrate. It’s draining. When you’re young, you can just keep going for an hour and not get tired.

“Now, I need to have a lie down. You see your grandparents, sleeping in their chairs. You get a little bit tired. I have to be realistic about what’s possible. Just have to accept it. Especially when you see talent like that, you can’t fight it.

“I’d love to win another World Championship. I’ve got two attempts at it. For three years previous I wasn’t cueing well enough. So I feel like if I can find a bit of cueing and some form in Sheffield, then who knows?

“If I don’t do it this year or the next year, then it’ll definitely never happen. I’m pleased with my career. I’m happy with how things have gone. I will try to enjoy these next two years. I’ll reassess it in 2028. If things are going really well and I surprise myself, then maybe you can extend it. You have to be realistic.”

O’Sullivan also made it clear he will not compete in any qualifiers for the World Snooker Championship if he drops out of the top 16. Making this abundantly clear, he said: “I am definitely not going to be playing qualifiers, put it that way.

“You won’t see me go down to Barnsley, trying to win qualifier matches and all that sort of stuff. I have to be realistic, if that happens, then obviously that’s the end of my career. Hopefully I can go for at least another two seasons.”