Ronnie O’Sullivan questions future after advancing to World Grand Prix Snooker quarter-finals with a win over Zhou Yuelong

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Ronnie O’Sullivan, the current World No. 1, continued his impressive streak by narrowly defeating Zhou Yuelong 4-3 to advance to the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix in Leicester. Despite reaching his 141st ranking event quarter-final in his illustrious 32-year career with notable breaks of 67, 107, 50, and 90, O’Sullivan expressed dissatisfaction with his performance. He is set to face Scottish Open champion Gary Wilson in the next round, who secured his spot with a 4-2 victory over Tom Ford.

While O’Sullivan has been having one of his best seasons, winning the Shanghai Masters, UK Championship, and Masters, he seemed rather downbeat despite his sixth consecutive win over the in-form Zhou. Despite Zhou’s impressive runs of 76, 102, and 65, along with a remarkable 95% pot success rate, O’Sullivan found faults in his own high-quality performance, even hinting at the possibility of retiring from the sport.

“I can’t comprehend it,” remarked O’Sullivan on ITV. “I really have to contemplate whether I can continue feeling the way I do out there. I derive no enjoyment from the way I’m striking the ball. It feels like guesswork, and it’s a struggle.

“The irony is that I’m winning tournaments. If I were consistently losing in the early rounds, the decision would be easier. I’m just not finding any satisfaction in it, to be honest. I definitely need a break, at the very least. However, this has been my reality for 25 or 30 years. It’s the only thing I know, and it’s hard not to do this because it’s my job.

“I’ve persevered through it, dealing with bad cueing. I’m getting no joy from it, truly. I’d prefer to play well and lose than play poorly and win tournaments.”

O’Sullivan continued expressing his discontent, indicating that he would be happier losing matches so he could “go home,” but he emphasized that he would never intentionally lose matches.

“I find it a real struggle. I feel like I’m going through the motions a lot of the time. I would have been genuinely happy to lose there so I could go home. But I can’t bring myself to throw games away. It’s almost at the point where I’m playing shots and hoping that if I miss, the opponent will clear up, but that’s not happening. Someone put me out of my misery, but it’s not happening.

“The minimum I can do is take a break and see if I can reignite my enthusiasm for the game. Breaks have helped me in the past. I miss something in my life, though I don’t miss playing. I miss having a purpose in life. That’s what I realized in 2012 when I took a year out. Steve Peters told me, ‘We all need a purpose in life.’ I’m not sure snooker is my purpose anymore. I’m not sure it ever was, considering the battles I’ve had with it. But I’ve stuck with it to support my family, to keep the family strong, maybe, I don’t know.”