AUSSIE snooker ace Neil Robertson has revealed a muddled mindset forced him to take a prolonged break from the sport
But the Thunder from Down Under is feeling refreshed and hungrier than ever as he guns to hunt down more ranking titles this term, starting with the Saudi Arabia Masters (30 August – 7 September).
Former world champion and world number one Robertson, a 23-time ranking winner, surprisingly struggled for form last season having dazzled in 2021 and 2022.
He won SIX titles during that period and reached three other finals.
However, home sickness and family problems saw the experienced potter lose his coveted top 16 ranking status for the first time in his distinguished career and forced him to try and qualify for last season’s World Championship.
He led Welshman Jamie Jones 8-5 in the final qualifying round but somehow conspired to lose 10-9 as he agonisingly missed out on qualification for snooker’s premier tournament for the first time since 2005.
It was also the first time since 2006 he didn’t win a single tournament in a season or even reach a final in a surprising season to forget.
“I gave it a good go last season, but my mindset wasn’t right,” Robertson, the 2010 world champion, told SportsBoom.com.
“It was like I was in a rush to get results. I wasn’t being patient, every tournament seemed like do-or-die for me.
“I was trying to take the pressure and everything in my stride, but deep down I was thinking ‘Jesus Christ, I hope I can just win this next bloody tournament so people can shut up’.
“But that’s all about being a top, professional sportsman I suppose.
It wasn’t that I had a bad attitude or anything, I was practising well, but I think I went into last season in fear of hanging on to all these types of records that were looming that I’d held for so many years.
Robertson
“Like the one where I have won a ranking event year since 2006, that one was a big one to hold on to, and there were other ones I was missing out on as well.
“Not qualifying for the Champion of Champions for the first time was on my mind, records like that.
Robertson added: “At the same time I missed home a lot and I wasn’t happy in my practise environment.
“(Fellow professional) Joe (Perry) moved out of the club last year and (fellow Aussie) Ryan Thomerson moved to Joe’s club because he’d bought a house with his girlfriend, which was nearer for him.
“It was too far for them both to come and practise with me every day, so I found myself practising by myself every day a lot.
“It was very stale environment for myself. I’d just put my AirPods on doing solo practise. Without realising it I’d really got in a bad rut.”
“I realised doing it by myself, well there’s only so far it can take you, especially when you don’t have family around.
“This season I’ve got a really good team around me and I’m really looking forward to seeing what I can achieve.”
Robertson decided to miss the last two tournaments in 2023 as he took a prolonged break to visit family in Australia.
And the 42-year-old believes the break did him the world of good and helped him rediscover a fresh perspective on his career and his future in the sport.
“I missed the last couple of tournaments last season to go to Australia
For years I’d been flying out family to come and see us in England, but my brothers hadn’t been able too, so since Covid that was the first time I’d flown out and actually seen them.
Robertson
“I’d not seen my brothers for four and a half years, which is a long time isn’t it.
“I grew up with them, we did everything together, we were joined at the hip.
“That’s part and parcel of being an overseas player, so it’s been really tough missing them.
“I certainly needed it, it was great going home, but it also reminded me of the things I was missing out on.”
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.