Jimmy White has revealed that he is working with a sports psychologist to try and get his career back on track after a tough couple of years. The 55-year-old has proven in the past that he can handle the pressure that comes with being at the top of the sport, although he appears to have lost his cutting edge over more recent times.
The Londoner boasts ten ranking titles and has featured in the World Championship final on six occasions during an illustrious career, but he was relegated from the professional circuit last season. White’s legendary status in snooker aided him in earning an invitation tour card and he has done his best to make the most of that opportunity. Ali Carter fell at the hands of White at the UK Championship, while he went on to send Anthony McGill packing in the first round of qualifying for the German Masters, which gets underway this week. The world number 101, who will not feature at the competition in Berlin after failing to move beyond the second round of qualifying, feels he can start climbing back up the rankings with help from his sports psychologist.
White said: “I’ve been working with a sports psychologist around twice a month to get me ready for tournaments. “I have done it all before, but even after playing snooker for over 40 years there are still new things I can learn. When you get to my age, the hardest thing is focus. Sometimes when I am playing I lose focus, and it’s hard to get it back. That didn’t happen when I was younger. “I scored those two good wins over Carter and McGill but then I found it hard to relax before the second round. I spoke to Steve Davis and he gave me some great advice, he said when you get a win you have to forget about it and completely focus on the next match as if nothing has happened. I feel I am going from strength to strength and I am really enjoying snooker at the moment.”
World number one Mark Selby, who won the German Masters in 2015, is the favourite to lift the title this year and can be backed at 7/2 to win the tournament outright.
German Masters odds available at Dafabet.