Scottish snooker legend has opened up about the wrist condition known as the 'yips' that forced him to retire, after a stellar career in which he dominated the tables during the 1990s with seven World Championship wins.
Now sharing a record with Ronnie O'Sullivan, Hendry left fans enthralled with his terrifically aggressive gameplay.
His form dipped after clinching his last world title in 1999 and led to an initial retirement in 2012 at just 43 years old due to frustrations over his playing level.
Despite a comeback attempt in 2020, by the summer of 2024 Hendry decided to decline a two-year tour card, candidly acknowledging: "Let's be honest, I wasn't pulling up any trees, was I?
"I was a little bit surprised with how good the standard was, but I've just got so many other work commitments, I won't be able to dedicate enough time to practising.
"I know the game inside out, I still know all the shots, but unfortunately the body is not performing like my brain wants it to."
He ultimately retired because of the yips, lamenting: "If I didn't have the yips and I could play, I would still play. I can't go through the ball properly and I can't wait at the back.
"There are certain shots I know I can't pot and they can be the easiest pots in the world or easy positional shots. I hate it. I don't know where it came from. Some people don't see it but it's horrible and that's why I retired."
The yips, involuntary wrist spasms that often plague golfers during their putts, can also affect players of other precision sports such as snooker, cricket, darts and baseball.
Previously believed to be solely linked to performance anxiety, recent research from the Mayo Clinic suggests that some cases of the yips may be due to a neurological condition affecting specific muscles, known as focal dystonia.
Steve Davis, six-time world snooker champion and current BBC pundit alongside Hendry, admitted he too had battled with the 'yips' throughout his career, describing it as a challenging condition to manage.
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