O'Sullivan knocked out of Wuhan Open semi-finals by Chang Bingyu, vows to play on

Ronnie O'Sullivan was beaten 6-3 by Chang Bingyu in the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open on Friday. He has not won a ranking event since January 2024.

O'Sullivan had earlier recovered from a deficit to beat China Open winner Mark Selby 5-3 in Thursday's quarter-final. He has taken steps to prioritise his mental health, withdrawing from tournaments and discussing his battles with depression and anxiety. "The disease came back big time today," said the 50-year-old Englishman. "If I'm honest I don't think I will ever get over it." "I will see out the next 18 months and see how we go. I don't want to throw the towel in just yet. I've committed to playing until then. I want to give myself a chance. I'd hate to finish my career on performances like that."

O'Sullivan lost the opening two frames to Chang but fought back to level at 2-2 by the mid-session interval. When play resumed, Chang won two frames in succession to move 4-2 in front and O'Sullivan pulled one back. Breaks of 69 and 48 in the closing stages secured Chang a 6-3 victory and a place in Saturday's final.

"Every time I play against Ronnie, it's a pleasure," said 24-year-old Chang. "He probably wasn't in the best form today, and I managed to take some of the opportunities that came my way."

Zhao Xintong defeated Xiao Guodong 6-2 to reach the final after denying Xiao a third successive Wuhan win. Zhao, who won the world title in 2025, took the opening two frames before being pegged back to 2-2, then produced two half-centuries and reeled off the next four frames, finishing with a break of 124 to complete the victory.

Chang Bingyu will face new world number one Zhao Xintong in Saturday's Wuhan Open final.