Gerwyn Price has revealed that he has withdrawn from the Players Championship in Wigan on Monday afternoon. The Welshman announced on Instagram that he has opted against continuing to compete at the event due to the ‘amateur conditions’ he felt he was being forced to play under.
Price appeared to be finding a good level of form at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan, securing victories in his first opening two rounds. The 38-year-old was forced to dig in during his opening clash with Karel Sedlacek, ultimately prevailing with a 6-5 win.
He improved further against Matthew Dennant in the second round, throwing an average of 110.77 as he cruised to a 6-2 win to set up a clash with Brendan Dolan in the third round. However, Price shockingly withdrew from the competition midway through his match with the world No. 28.
With Dolan leading 4-2, Price refused to finish the match and thus gave his opponent a bye into the next round. ‘The Iceman’ then revealed on Instagram why he opted against trying to battle back against Dolan, feeling that the conditions in Wigan were not up to scratch.
He wrote: “Absolutely pathetic conditions. Travel all the way to Wigan to play in a professional game and we have to play in less than amateur conditions. Never have I ever given a game up.
“Well that’s me out to tomorrow as well. Gutted because my game was really good today and I rely on these events so much.”
Price will therefore not feature on day two of the competition on Tuesday meaning that his next match will be against teenage sensation Luke Littler in the Premier League later this week. The 17-year-old has come out on top during their two previous meetings and he will be hoping to make it a hat-trick on night three of his Premier League debut.
Littler will head into the match in good form having reached the last 16 of the Players Championship on Monday with an emphatic win over Michele Turetta. The breakout star hit a sensational nine-darter to win the match, having beaten Jim Williams and Luke Woodhouse earlier in the competition. Littler will be hoping that he can continue to impress on Tuesday and earn points towards his world ranking before he comes face to face with Price.
