13 October 2020

Snooker’s Ronnie O’Sullivan wears pink nail varnish for breast cancer awareness

13 October 2020

Snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan wore pink nail varnish to raise awareness of breast cancer as he claimed his first win since the World Championship.

The 44-year-old, who won his sixth world title at the Crucible in August, came from two frames down to beat France’s Brian Ochoiski 4-2 in the first round of the English Open in Milton Keynes

And he did so while sporting nail polish to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which runs throughout October, after a friend suggested having a picture taken while wearing it.

He told Eurosport: “I said ‘Forget having a picture, I’ll play a match or a tournament with it if you like’.”

O’Sullivan revealed that his partner, actress Laila Rouass, had encouraged him to do something similar in the past.

He said: “It’s just great to raise awareness for such an important cause – women’s breast cancer.

“Laila said years ago I should have painted my nails but I was like nah, nah, nah.

“I suppose I have to thank her for this because she said it was all right to do so I thought I’d give it a go.”

O’Sullivan said the varnish was “really nice” and added that he was so taken with the look that it might be “here to stay”.

“I get why women like painting their nails now,” he said. “It’s a nice feeling.”

O’Sullivan, who tweeted a picture of himself wearing the polish, struck a particular chord with one Twitter user.

Siobhan McKean replied to his tweet: “Love this! Ronnie we went to Wanstead High School together … your my claim to fame lol. Means a lot from a stage 4 breast cancer warrior.”

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