Ronnie O’Sullivan after Gary Wilson win: 'Kind of felt like I had the yips' as he battles with his game - Eurosport

Ronnie O'Sullivan has disclosed that he has been struggling with a type of nervousness that has made him hesitant to engage in snooker.

The top-ranked player in the world has had an exceptional season, achieving victories at prestigious events like the UK Championship, The Masters, World Grand Prix, Shanghai Masters, and World Masters of Snooker. This has been one of the player's strongest seasons in recent memory.

Besides the five victories he achieved, he has also missed several events due to medical reasons.

Throughout his career, O'Sullivan struggled with his mental health. In 2011, he sought the help of Sports Psychiatrist Steve Peters to work on his psychological well-being.

The Rocket disclosed that he had resumed his collaboration with Peters and was working closely with him once more.

After his difficult victory against Gary Wilson in the semi-finals of the Tour Championship, O'Sullivan revealed that he had been in constant communication with Peters. A few weeks ago, he would have given up when faced with Wilson's tough competition.

"I am putting in a lot of effort to avoid feeling negative about myself," expressed O'Sullivan during an interview with ITV Sport. "Even though it's challenging, I'm attempting to alter my way of thinking."

It's definitely a challenge, but if I had been in this situation two weeks ago, I may have given up mentally. However, I convinced myself to persevere and concentrate on the potential advantages that could be waiting just ahead.

When asked about his connection with Peters, O'Sullivan stated: "We have communicated daily, conversing three to four times throughout the day."

I need to dedicate myself fully for a whole year in order to overcome the mental struggles that I've been facing due to my obsession and constant tweaking of the game.

I acknowledge that I will always fiddle with things, but I need to develop mental resilience to prevent myself from getting absorbed into the dreary and unpleasant realm of endless tinkering.

O'Sullivan has acknowledged that his pursuit of flawlessness led him down a negative path and that he's needed to work on calming his mind after struggling with a condition called the yips. This is a distressing mental state experienced by athletes when they struggle to execute particular skills.

He said: "Whether you're into golf, tennis, snooker, or darts, we all have our addictions. I personally got so caught up in it that it feels like I need to go through a detox process to break free. It's not going to happen overnight, so if I want to overcome it, I need to put in the effort."

I've been experiencing a sort of mental and physical block that's made me afraid to even think about playing. It's really unpleasant to feel this way, like you're stuck in a rut and can't move forward.

I need to find a way to remove myself from this situation and hopefully my performance will improve.

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