Snooker star Ben Woollaston suffered blackouts during matches as he battled a mystery illness. Suspected to be a chronic fatigue-like condition, the 37-year-old struggled to stand and even stay awake for more than a few hours for months.
To his credit, Woollaston, once a regular inside the top 32, managed to retain his tour card. On Wednesday, he plays fellow Leicester potter Mark Selby in the first round as he returns to the World Championship for the first time in 12 years.
Woollaston still hasn’t had an official diagnosis for his health struggles but he hasn’t been the same since receiving a Covid jab almost four years ago. While his condition has improved, he still isn’t 100 per cent.
“It’s from the vaccine, it happened from that day, May 2021,” recalled Woollaston earlier this season. “I passed out after having it. I couldn’t stand for about six months.
“I’d never passed out in my life but I had that same feeling for about six months. Standing in the garden, standing in the shower, I felt like I was going to pass out.
“I couldn’t sleep enough. I literally woke up to eat because I was sleeping 18-20 hours a day. I put loads of weight on because I was just eating and sleeping. It was awful.”
For a time, Woollaston even had mini blackouts during games. He said: “I’d hit the ball and forget, just for a split second.
“I could miss absolutely anything, it was a bit of a lottery. I was playing with closed eyes on a few shots. I have it less frequently now but it’s frustrating because it’s unpredictable.
“I was in the top 32 for about six years in a row. I’d never thought about dropping off the tour but, at one time, I couldn’t see how I could stay on.”
Woollaston admits even playing with his children for more than a few minutes wears him out. But he has learned how to manage his energy levels while on tour and he still has designs on climbing back into the top 32. He is currently ranked 44th in the world.
“I never feel full of energy, ever,” said Woollaston, who is married to referee Tatiana Woollaston. “It’s a struggle to play with my kids, although I try.
“My son’s into cricket and I try to bowl to him. I’m not even running in but I’ll bowl two or three overs, then need a lie down. Anything more than walking is a lot.
“Even after playing a snooker match, it’s still difficult the next day. For matches, I just try and rest as much as I can. Before [the jab], I’d go out as much as possible. While touring, I’d do a lot of walking but it’s probably risky for me to do that before a match now.”
He has had various scans and tests but specialists remain stumped by the condition. He said: “To be honest, they don’t really have a clue. It’s been hard on my wife. To be honest, only my wife and my mum really understand it.
“I probably wouldn’t believe it if it was someone else [because], it’s weird, isn’t it? It’s hard to understand because the specialists don’t even understand it. They don’t know what to do.
“I don’t know if it’s chronic fatigue syndrome. That’s only what one doctor has told me but that was on video call, so how would he know? Something’s made me poorly from the vaccine but I don’t know what.”
At the end of last year, Tatiana, who is refereeing at the Crucible, reported positive signs in her husband.
“It’s been a tough, tough time,” she said. “It’s taken a long time. At the start of this, he would always complain about the way he felt, then he went through a period where he thought people were fed up of hearing about him being ill and kept it to himself.
“But I knew he wasn’t right, even though he wasn’t mentioning it. But now he feels better in himself, he can practice longer hours, he can play with the kids more. It’s been slow progress but he is definitely getting there. We can see that from his results.”
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