• [Daily Mirror Icon]
• Sport
• Other Sports
• Judd Trump

Judd Trump rules out UK return after snooker star left 'homeless' and forced to flee

World No 1 snooker player Judd Trump has offered a new verdict on returning to live in the UK after being forced to flee his home in Dubai

[Judd Trump has confirmed he has no plans to move back to the UK permanently ]

View 2 Images

Judd Trump has confirmed he has no plans to move back to the UK permanently (Image: (Photo by Sam Bloxham/Getty Images))

Judd Trump has ruled out any chance of returning to the UK despite finding himself virtually homeless after fleeing his home in the Middle East. The world's top-ranked player moved to Dubai in early 2025 but was forced to leave the city following the outbreak of war.

The region has been impacted by Iran's retaliatory strikes on American military bases in the Gulf area. In recent months, debris from intercepted missiles has reportedly landed in residential neighbourhoods and there have been significant strikes at Dubai International Airport and Jebel Ali Port.

Trump has been residing in a hotel in Bangkok since March, with little prospect of returning to Dubai in the near future. It appears he will stay there for the foreseeable future after dismissing any notion of heading back to England.

Trump, who is currently competing at the World Snooker Championship, told SportsBoom: "I won't be moving back to the UK. Maybe I'll go somewhere different. But definitely won't be coming back to the UK any time soon."

It's certainly been a turbulent few months for the Bristol-born star, who has also had his practice schedule disrupted due to complications with his brother's visa. He added: "Before it was a little bit difficult, I had to stay in Thailand for a month, but no, I've managed to practice for the world championship. It's been more back to normal.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! All the best sports news and much more on our dedicated Facebook page

"It's been a season for me. I think it was January that my brother wasn't able to come in, so I wasn't able to practice. And after a period, I've been a lot more consistent and reached a lot of semi-finals and finals.

"It's been a strange season for me, a lot more going off the table than I've ever had really, but still been decent." Trump initially discussed his situation during the World Open earlier this year, explaining that he was merely attempting to make the best of a difficult circumstance.

"I had to leave [Dubai] so we went to Bangkok," he said. "It's a bit up in the air at the moment. I don't really think I can go back, just in case I get stuck there. Just kind of looking for somewhere else to live.

"At the moment I'll just base myself in Bangkok. There's some good practice there and I've been very well looked after. It's just all a bit play-it-day-by-day.

[Judd Trump plays a shot at the World Snooker Championships]

View 2 Images

Judd Trump beat Gary Wilson in the World Snooker Championships first round on Tuesday(Image: VCG via Getty Images)

"My brother was stuck in Dubai for a little bit, so that wasn't good. Luckily he's got out now and hopefully things turn around. I managed to practise in Thailand and dedicate myself like I normally would.

"It's not nice to be not at home, not knowing what you're going to do. I don't know what I'm going to do after this and stuff like that. Away from the table, just take the positives.

"It just gets a little bit more difficult because with this tournament being in China it was easier to navigate, being close by and being very close to the time zone.

"It gets more difficult when I'm going back to the UK for the next tournament and the Worlds. I don't really know where I'm going to be at that point."

[Daily Mirror Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.