Allen extends tour absence with latest withdrawal

Mark Allen has prolonged his absence from professional tournament snooker by withdrawing from the forthcoming Shenzhen Open for personal reasons.

The event runs from 28 September to 4 October, with the Northern Ireland player having been scheduled to face Ben Mertens on the opening day in China.

World Snooker Tour last week confirmed that Allen would not participate in qualifiers for the International Championship.

The 40-year-old recently sat out the British and English Opens, meaning he had missed the first five ranking events of the season.

He also did not take part in the Championship League, China Open and Wuhan Open ranking events, plus the Shanghai Masters, which is a non-ranking tournament.

The world number 13 has not played in a professional event since losing to eventual winner Wu Yize in their World Championship semi-final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in early May.

The next tournament Allen is scheduled to compete in is his home event, the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast, from 18 to 25 October.