Snooker legend Jimmy White revealed he has been living with ADHD while speaking to Stephen Hendry.
The six-time World Championship runner-up, who has previously spoken about his struggles with alcohol, drugs and gambling, believes the condition significantly impacted his career. White, who is still competing today at the age of 62, is known as being one of the more unpredictable players to have picked up a cue.
In October 2024, his impulsiveness reached a new high when he abruptly left the Northern Ireland Open mid-frame while playing against Martin O’Donnell. Looking back on many moments in his career, White admits the diagnosis has been somewhat of an epiphany.
Speaking on Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips, he said: “I got diagnosed with ADHD about two years ago, so I’ve had to work that out. With ADHD, you think about 15 things at once, you are all over the office.
“So, I’m now down to, sort of, normal. I have to be medicated and all that and it’s completely changed my life, it’s brilliant. But when you’re under pressure, looking back, all these thoughts were going through my mind and all of a sudden, I’m starting to miss everything.
“So, like, the pockets might be closing up as I’m hitting them and the balls becoming like footballs. That, for me now, looking back, if I’d have known what I had, I’d have been able to refocus better.
“That was a big thing. I think a couple of players have got ADHD. That’s why I’m trying to work with [Peter] Ebdon, getting it down to basics.”
The NHS website states ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a condition that affects an individual’s behaviour and can cause people to “have trouble concentrating” and “act on impulse”. It also states the condition is usually noticed and diagnosed at an early stage.
However, White was in his 60s when it was confirmed to him that he had the condition. When the former World No. 2 looks back on several moments in his career, he admits many of the signs were in front of him.
He added: “I am trying to work on the mental side, because I’d get myself so at it, for playing so well, practicing and then all of a sudden, you cannot pot a ball and you’re thinking, ‘Well, you love the pressure, that’s half the buzz’.
“Then all of a sudden, you are not thinking right and then, you get it together, you pot two or three balls and you come two inches short on a positional shot, because you lost it. For me, it’s concentration.
“I can be playing, not so much now, because of these ADHD situations, but I could be playing and a voice would go at me, ‘Did you water the plants before you left home’ and I’m like, ‘Where’s that come from?’
“I’ve got one of the hardest games in the world, a geezer trying to beat me and I’ve got this voice, because the concentration is more difficult when you get older. When you close that in, practice, [you] enjoy competing.”
White continues to compete today, although not at the same levels and standards he was once accustomed to. The world No.91 most recently lost 4-3 to Scott Donaldson in the quarter-final of the Welsh Open.