NEIL ROBERTSON has credited Ronnie O’Sullivan for sage advice about how to manage his snooker schedule.
And the Australian cueist is also on a crusade to improve working conditions for all players, calling for “transparency” on sponsorship deals and tournament logistics.
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The 2010 world champion flew back from his homeland on Saturday after he received the Medal of the Order of Australia at a shindig which his parents attended.
The 43-year-old, a father of two, chose not to play in the Wuhan Open before that ceremony took place so he could benefit from a “mental reset”.
Having banked £500,000 prize money last month when he beat O’Sullivan in a deciding frame of the final of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, he was able to skip this lucrative Chinese event.
And a chat with the sport’s GOAT opened his eyes to how he should pick and choose when he plays to avoid burnout.
The world No3 said: “Ronnie was absolutely amazing. That final was played in great spirits, it was so competitive.
“It was so enjoyable to play him when he was biting and so desperate to win. It was emotionally sort of really intense.
“After the match, we both signed hundreds of autographs for people at a meet-and-greet thing. He signed them all.
“We were having a chat and he was also talking to me about my schedule.
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“He said: ‘Make sure you look after yourself in terms of Wuhan. Make sure you’re ready to compete again. Don’t just force yourself to play’.
“Ronnie has always been great with me. He calls me up randomly on the phone and chats about things.
“He just wants to see me do really well. I’ve got a huge amount of respect for him. He’s a good guy.”
Robertson defends his English Open title on Tuesday night at the Brentwood Leisure Centre against Thailand’s Sunny Akani, the man who made O’Sullivan’s new cue this season.
This Home Nations Series event means a lot to Robbo as his dad and eldest son saw him win it 12 months ago in Essex.
This summer, he joined the WPBSA Players Board with a remit to improve standards and liaisons between officials and stars on the baize.
Robertson – the most successful non-UK and Ireland player in history – said: “It has been an interesting experience, learning what goes on behind the scenes and with player welfare.
‘More transparency’
“There’s certainly been a lot of improvements I’ve seen so far.
“One of the things that should happen is maybe more transparency behind a lot of things like the sponsorship deals with tournaments and funding.
“I think that’s what the player base want – a bit more transparency with what’s going on.
“The players are certainly within their rights to find out how much these deals are actually worth, before the money filters into World Snooker.
‘It’s very difficult’
“It is very difficult when you’re dealing with promoters and sponsors in other countries who want a certain amount of players there and certain appearances.
“I also think the schedule could be structured a lot better. It seems strange to be bouncing from Shanghai to Saudi and Wuhan – back to the UK and then back to China.
“Maybe you could have back-to-back Chinese events. The travel expenses are an awful lot.
“Not to mention as well, from a player welfare point of view, the constant adjustment to jetlag. It’s very tolling on your body to constantly switch between these zones.
“I’m trying to stick up a lot for players with travel to China and being on certain match times. I don’t want us bouncing all over the world.
“The players should really have more of a say in these sorts of things. As a top player myself, I can give really good feedback to that.”
