SNOOKER legend Stephen Hendry has named two current WST players he is concerned about.
Despite retiring for a second time last year, the 56-year-old is still a prominent figure on the tour as a pundit and commentator.
He regularly works for ITV and BBC Sport covering major events including the World Championship.
As a result, the King of the Crucible frequently keeps tabs on some of the world’s top stars.
The Scot has admitted that two players have left him underwhelmed given their exploits over the last year.
World champion Zhao Xintong has left him disappointed in the wake of his Crucible victory.
Meanwhile, he also claims that Judd Trump should be concerned about his form.
The world No1 has not been past the last-16 in a ranking event this season and is yet to win a title.
Discussing the Ace in the Pack’s recent form on the Snooker Club podcast, Hendry said: “If I was Judd… Judd might not be worrying, but if I was Judd in his position as world number one I’d be worried because he’s not won a tournament in the calendar year.
“He’s world number one and been so used to being an absolute serial winner the last three, four, five years.
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“If I was him I’d be worried, I’m not saying he is, but I wouldn’t like to be in this situation.
“It just puts more pressure on the next event and then the next event and the next event.
“It’s easy to say, ‘I’m sure he’ll come good because he’s world number one and he’s so good,’ but you can’t really stay still, you’ll go backwards because there’s so many more players there to take it off you.
“For me, it’s worrying times for Judd.
“When he starts to lose, other players start to see that and they’re not quite as frightened going in against him, they’re not quite as intimidated.”
Despite his concerns, Hendry believes that Trump will turn things around.
He added: “I’m sure he’ll turn it around because he’s that good.
“He just needs a run of two or three matches where he wins them easily, wins them by playing really good snooker, not scraping through them but winning them convincingly. Then I think he’ll get his mojo back.”
Meanwhile, Hendry admitted he is “disappointed” in current world champion Zhao.
The Scot added: “He’s struggling. I think he’s struggling under the weight of being world champion.
“I’m actually a wee bit disappointed in him. I thought he’d be able to handle it better.
“Listen, no one knows what’s going to happen when you win the world title, obviously he’s had huge attention in China, he seems to be endorsing everything that’s good so his head must be spinning, but I still thought that he’d play better than he has done.”
Both players are set to appear at the Northern Ireland Open this weekend.
Zhao takes on Jordan Brown in his first game, with Trump facing Anthony McGill.
