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Ashley Carty says is it a “big relief” to get back on the World Snooker tour after a year out.
Carty, 27, spent four seasons on the tour after coming through qualifying school but lost his place in 2022.
His father was in hospital for almost five months with Covid during the 2021-22 season, and Carty’s game suffered.
“He was in a really bad way,” recalled Carty. “I was turning up to tournaments and not wanting to be there – and kind of expecting a phone call.”
Carty, from Rotherham, told the BBC’s Framed podcast: “I hardly practised for four months, because snooker took a complete back step.”
His father is making a recovery from Covid even now and Carty is ready to face the demands of being a professional player again.
“It’s just a big relief really,” said Carty. “The last thing I wanted was to have two, three, four years off the tour.”
Carty’s career highlight so far was reaching the first round of the World Championship in 2020 when he lost 10-7 to Stuart Bingham.
He has also previously reached the last 32 of the German Masters, Welsh Open, Riga Masters and European Masters, and admitted that the transition to the tour was difficult for him first time around.
“You’re not winning many matches, so it’s hard to get momentum and confidence,” he said.
He has put in more work and incorporated swimming and running into his programme.
And he has also had support from former world champion Shaun Murphy.
“Where I first started practising, he practised at that club too,” added Carty. “When I was qualifying for the Crucible [in 2020], he was messaging me, giving me a lot of advice. So I’m really grateful for that.”
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