Stephen Hendry: It's not a comeback but if I put some work in I could get results on snooker tour

Published 19/12/2022 at 22:35 GMT

Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry has not found his best form since returning to the snooker tour in March 2021. Hendry, 53, has won just three matches and was beaten 5-0 by Matthew Stevens in his last outing. He has spoken about his expectations around his comeback and why he thinks he can't just "expect to just turn up" if he wants to get better results at events.

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Stephen Hendry has played down the significance of his snooker comeback – but believes he could still “get results” with more practice time.

The seven-time world champion sparked much excitement when he came out of retirement at the 2021 Gibraltar Open.

But he has struggled to rediscover his best form, winning just three of 14 matches and losing 5-0 in his most recent outing to Matthew Stevens in German Masters qualifying.

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Hendry hasn’t played on tour since that defeat in late November and seems to have mixed thoughts on his comeback.

"I don't prepare, so I can't expect to do anything to be fair," he told Matt Selt on his

"We love golf don't we...and golf's a massive distraction.

"Unless I take it seriously - even playing like two hours a day or one hour a day for a whole month - that would be something. But I can't expect to just turn up.

“The players are good and the safety has improved, and the scoring has improved. But I watch the players play and think if I put some work in I could get results."

Hendry managed to score just 113 points in the defeat to Stevens and his highest break in the match was 32.

He says that he struggles to get motivated at some of the smaller venues.

"I'm not saying I could win but that's not why I came back," he said.

"People seem to think it's a comeback - it's not. It's just a wildcard to play in events.

"I came back to get the experience of playing in venues again with crowds, not to go to Wigan and play in a leisure centre. No disrespect to Wigan, but that doesn't really get me going."

Mark Selby won the final event of 2022 as he beat Luca Brecel in the English Open final.

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