Ronnie O'Sullivan's personal life, snooker return date and net worth

Ronnie O'Sullivan has been absent from the British Open due to 'medical reasons'.

The snooker legend's non-attendance is overshadowed by swirling rumours concerning his relationship with actress Laila Rouass.

In what was set to be a clash against Thailand's world No. 116 Manasawin Phetmalaikul in Cheltenham on Monday, fans were left disheartened when amateur Lewis Ullah stepped into the fray in O'Sullivan's place.

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Despite being an active presence at recent tournaments including the Xi'an Grand Prix, the Saudi Arabia Masters, and the English Open, the 48-year-old player is currently pausing for breath ahead of his expected return at the Wuhan Open in China on October 6, amid what appears to be a tough time in his personal life.

Last week, news outlets published information on his alleged separation from Rouass, with whom he has had an on-off relationship spanning over ten years. The strain of O'Sullivan's demanding snooker schedule is speculated to have contributed to their troubles.

However, recent sightings of O'Sullivan and Rouass together near their Essex home last Saturday suggest the pair have rekindled. Rouass, famous for her roles as Amber Gates in Footballers' Wives and Sahira Shah in Holby City, also made waves recently by joining the EastEnders cast, appearing on the popular soap opera since August, reports Wales Online.

Renowned for his open dialogue about mental health issues, snooker legend O'Sullivan has previously stated he enjoys playing abroad more than in the UK, citing more supportive crowds, as reported by the Mirror.

"Some of the tournaments in the UK don't feel special," O'Sullivan said towards the end of last year. "For me, I want to play in the best tournaments with the best crowds. I feel like I get more support and people like me better here in Asia than they do in my own country."

The Rocket, as O'Sullivan is affectionately known, has pulled out from an array of UK competitions since the previous season's start, participating only once in the British Open since its return in 2021. This tendency continued following his intimation of possibly hanging up his cue after a surprising 4-2 defeat at the hands of He Guoqiang during the English Open first round.

O'Sullivan openly admitted after the match: "I'm awful, it's embarrassing," lamenting his performance. "I miss so many balls. I can't get away from it, poor, but there's nothing I can do about it. I've been missing balls for the last four or five years and every now and then I'll miss a few less, maybe, and get a couple of results."

Reflecting on his form and the upcoming World Championship, he said: "I'm absolutely useless. Forget about the Worlds. I'm not even bothered to be honest with you, if I'm going to play rubbish I might as well play left-handed. Play left-handed and enjoy it, but be useless, or play right-handed, be useless and not enjoy it.

"I haven't got long, I'm not going to deny it, I'm not playing well enough, there's no point in even worrying about it. I've just accepted it now which is quite a nice place to be really."

At 48, O'Sullivan has plenty of time to consider his future as well as a comfortable financial situation if he was to walkaway from the sport. It was reported by the Express, earlier this year, that the Englishman is thought to be worth around £20m.