26. 5. 2014. BBC Sport - Snooker - Hendry reveals 10-year battle with the 'yips'

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606: DEBATE

I can't believe how badly

Hendry cued, especially on the

UK Snooker Championship

Venue: Telford International Centre Date: 4-12 December

Coverage: Live action and highlights on BBC Two and BBC Red Button; updates

and reports on BBC Radio 5 live and live coverage on this website.

Full details of BBC coverage

Williams beats Hendry to reach the quarter-finals

Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry said he had been

battling the 'yips' for 10 years after his defeat by Mark Williams

in the UK Championship.

The Scot lost 9-6 in a second-round encounter of low quality before

talking about his problem.

The 'yips' is a condition, usually associated with golf, that involves

the freezing or involuntary movement of the hands when attempting

shots.

"On some shots I don't even get the cue through," said the 41-year-

old Hendry.

"It's so frustrating, it's like giving these guys a 50 [point] head-start,

it's horrendous.

"It's got gradually worse for 10

years. I think I need to phone

Bernhard Langer to see how he got

over the 'yips' because that's what

I have."

German golfer Langer is perhaps the

most high-profile sportsman to have been affected by the 'yips',

which in his case involves flinching or twitching when putting.

Ryder Cup-winning captain Sam Torrance and seven-time major

winner Sam Snead also succumbed, although the 'yips' are not

confined to golf and snooker.

Leicestershire bowler Scott Boswell famously suffered a bout of the

'yips' in the 2001 C&G Trophy final, bowling a 14-ball over which

featured eight wides, including five in a row.

In the semi-final he had taken 4-44, all of them England

internationals. A month after the final, Boswell was released from his

contract by Leicestershire.

Five-time darts world champion

Eric Bristow was never the same

player after breaking down with

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Page last updated at 11:12 GMT, Wednesday, 8 December 2010

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Hendry reveals 10-year battle with the 'yips'

SEE ALSO

UK Championship - latest scores

10 Dec 10 | Snooker

Williams beats struggling Hendry

07 Dec 10 | Snooker

Scrappy Higgins edges past Dott

07 Dec 10 | Snooker

Hendry beats White in nervy epic

06 Dec 10 | Snooker

O'Sullivan dumped out by Bingham

06 Dec 10 | Snooker

Higgins wins on British comeback

05 Dec 10 | Snooker

Higgins happy to take second chance

06 Dec 10 | Snooker

Golfer's yips may be physical

10 Mar 03 | Health

Snooker on the BBC

08 Apr 11 | Snooker

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26. 5. 2014. BBC Sport - Snooker - Hendry reveals 10-year battle with the 'yips'

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long shots

whirlwind

Davis on Hendry's cue problems

the 'yips' - or 'dartitis' as it is

called - in 1987. Baseball pitchers,

basketball players and tennis

players have also been struck down.

The condition was originally thought to be a psychological problem

but researchers now believe it may have a physical basis.

Six-time world champion Steve Davis revealed he had also suffered

with the 'yips' during his career and said it was difficult to keep under

control.

"You have to deal with it in the spur of the moment, you have to

have a plan B and use your grit and determination to get through the

day," he told BBC Sport.

"But longer term you can only get confidence from improving your

technique.

"When we talk about cueing across the face of the ball, what we are

talking about is this: ideally when you are looking at a long straight

pot, you want to be aiming at the centre of the cue ball, with your

cue dead straight in line with the shot.

"You then want to pull it back

on that line and deliver it

back through the ball on the

same line. Once a player

stops doing that he has got

serious problems.

"Once it starts, it is a bit like

a golfer with a hook or a

slice, the more you try to

stop it, the worse it gets. It

is debilitating for a player."

Asked if his travails would force him out of the game, Hendry,

considered by most observers to be snooker's greatest ever player,

said he would struggle on.

"I wish in a way I didn't keep coming up with these good frames

because it suggests maybe there is still petrol in the tank - and then

I play three bad frames," he said.

"The one thing going for me is I'm at the end of my career. It's

frustrating but I just have to keep going."

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