Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish former professional snooker player and a current commentator and pundit. One of the most successful players in snooker history, he turned professional in 1985, aged 16, and rose rapidly through the snooker world rankings, reaching number four in the world by the end of his third professional season. He won his first World Snooker Championship in 1990, aged 21 years and 106 days, making him the sport's youngest world champion, a record he still holds. He won seven world titles between 1990 and 1999, setting a new modern-era record that stood outright until Ronnie O'Sullivan equalled it in 2022. He also won the Masters six times and the UK Championship five times for a career total of 18 Triple Crown tournament wins, a total exceeded only by O'Sullivan's 23. His total of 36 ranking titles is second only to O'Sullivan's 41, while his nine seasons as world number one were the most by any player under the annual ranking system used until 2010.
Hendry's five consecutive Masters titles between 1989 and 1993 and five consecutive world titles between 1992 and 1996 remain records in the modern era. His 36 consecutive victories in ranking events between March 1990 and January 1991 and his 29 consecutive wins at the Crucible between 1992 and 1997 also remain modern-era records. One of three players to have won all three Triple Crown events in a single season, he is the only player to have achieved the feat twice, in the 1989âÂÂ90 and 1995âÂÂ96 seasons. His 777 career century breaks include 11 maximum breaks, putting him in third place behind O'Sullivan (17) and John Higgins (13) for the most officially recognised maximums in professional competition. Awarded an MBE in 1994, he was twice named the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year, in 1987 and 1996.
Hendry's form became less consistent after his sixth world title in 1996 and his career declined in the 2000s, his play increasingly affected by the yips. He reached the last of his nine world finals at the 2002 World Championship but lost in a to Peter Ebdon. He won his last ranking title at the 2005 Malta Cup and reached his last ranking final at the 2006 UK Championship, where he was again defeated by Ebdon. During the 2011âÂÂ12 season, he fell out of the top 16 in the world rankings for the first time in 23 years. He qualified for the 2012 World Championship, where he made his 27th consecutive Crucible appearance, but he announced his retirement from professional snooker at age 43 following a 2âÂÂ13 defeat to Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals. After almost nine years in retirement, he returned to professional competition during the 2020âÂÂ21 season under an invitational tour card. He played sporadically on the professional tour over four seasons but secured only three wins in 20 professional matches and retired again after the 2023âÂÂ24 season. Hendry has also competed on the World Seniors Tour and has twice been a semi-finalist at the World Seniors Championship.
Stephen Gordon Hendry's parents, Gordon Hendry and Irene Rixson, met as teenagers in the late 1960s while working at a woollen merchant in Edinburgh. Irene, who worked as a secretary, became pregnant, and she and Gordon moved into a bedroom of his grandmother's flat in St Leonard's, Edinburgh. Irene was 18 years old when she gave birth to Hendry on 13 January 1969. The family subsequently moved to Gorgie. Hendry's younger brother Keith was born in 1972, and the family moved to Baberton Mains. His father was then working in the fruit and vegetable wholesale business.
By the late 1970s, Hendry's father and a business partner were running three greengrocer's shops, located in Inverkeithing, Dalgety Bay, and Dunfermline. The family moved to a bungalow in Dalgety Bay when Hendry was nine and lived there for the next six years. He attended Inverkeithing High School. He started playing snooker when his parents bought him a miniature snooker table for Christmas in 1981. He subsequently began playing on full-sized tables at Maloco's Snooker Hall and the Classic Snooker Centre in Dunfermline. He made his first century break, a 102, at the Classic Snooker Centre several months after his 13th birthday in 1982. At this time his snooker hero was Jimmy White, and he later wrote that when he saw White at an exhibition match, he felt that "The charm and skill of the man is undeniable and yet, for all my attacking play and determination to the table quickly, I'm beginning to realise that I don't share JimmyâÂÂs colourful personality."
When Hendry was 15, his parents separated. Due to financial difficulties caused by his father's problem gambling, they had to sell their house and business interests. Hendry's mother moved with her two sons to a council house in her hometown of Kirkliston, and Hendry began attending Queensferry High School. His father moved to a small flat in nearby Broxburn but travelled frequently with Hendry to snooker tournaments around the country.
Hendry's first tournament win was an under-16 "Stars of the Future" event at a Pontins holiday camp in Prestatyn, Wales when he was 14. After winning both the Scottish and British Under-16 Championships, he made his first televised appearance in 1983 on Junior Pot Black, where he defeated Nick Pearce but then lost to Steve Ventham in the semi-finals. In 1984, he became the youngest ever winner of the Scottish Amateur Championship. At the 1984 World Amateur Snooker Championship he became the youngest player ever to participate in that championship. He finished sixth-placed in his qualifying group of nine participants, and did not qualify for the final stages. He discussed his snooker career with his father and they agreed that he would seek to turn professional as they felt, according to Hendry, that he "couldn't learn anything as an amateur... If I wanted to learn I had to be in with the big boys."
In February 1985, his application for professional status was accepted by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Two months later, he retained the Scottish Amateur Championship. Aged 16 years, he was then the sport's youngest professional. From the age of 14 he was managed by Ron Clover, who also managed darts player Jocky Wilson, but when he was 16 Ian Doyle and Jim Marley took over his management after paying Clover ã2,000. Doyle, who was influenced by Barry Hearn's style of management, arranged a series of money matches against leading players for Hendry, mirroring the way that Hearn had arranged matches for Steve Davis before he turned professional.
In his debut season as a professional, Hendry earnt his first ranking point at the 1986 Classic, eliminating Dessie Sheehan, Graham Miles and Silvino Francisco before losing 4âÂÂ5 to Neal Foulds. He also won the 1986 Scottish Professional Championship, becoming the youngest player to win any national professional title. He won four qualifying matches to reach the main stage of the 1986 World Snooker Championship, losing 8âÂÂ10 to Willie Thorne in the first round. Aged 17 years and 3 months, he was then the youngest player to compete at the final stages of a world championship, a record he held for 26 years until Luca Brecel made his Crucible debut in 2012 aged two months younger.
In his 2025 book Pots of Gold, snooker journalist David Hendon wrote that from the start of Hendry's professional career, it was evident that he was unlike most other professionals: "The percentage game long favoured by established professionals and taken to new levels by [Steve] Davis was jettisoned in favour of all-out attack." Davis had won the World Snooker Championship in 1981, 1983 and 1984, and had held the top position in the world rankings since the 1983âÂÂ84 list. Hendry studied Davis's detachment fom other players, and his professional attitude to preparation. Hendon quoted Hendry as saying "I looked at Steve Davis and thought, 'That's where I want to be. Nothing less would be good enough.'"
In the 1986âÂÂ87 season, Hendry and Mike Hallett reached the final of the 1986 World Doubles Championship, which they lost 3âÂÂ10 to Davis and Tony Meo. Hendry reached his first ranking semi-final at the Classic but lost 3âÂÂ9 to Davis. He then retained his Scottish Professional Championship title. Having won three qualifying matches to reach the main stage of the 1987 World Championship, he then eliminated Thorne and Steve Longworth to progress to the quarter-finals. He lost 12âÂÂ13 to defending champion Joe Johnson, despite coming from 1âÂÂ8 and 8âÂÂ12 behind to force a .
Hendry defeated Hallett to win the invitational 1987 Australian Masters, and was runner-up to Davis at the 1987 Hong Kong Masters. At the 1987 Fidelity International Open he reached the semi-finals, where he lost 1âÂÂ9 to Cliff Thorburn, later decribing that match as "a pasting which barely sees me out of my chair." He won his first ranking title, the 1987 Grand Prix, beating Taylor 10âÂÂ7 in the final; at the time, he was the youngest winner of a ranking title. He defeated three members of the top 16 to reach the final, including Davis. In 2018, Hendry wrote that he had been analysing videos of his past matches against Davis, and realised that he would benefit from playing more , and did this during his defeat of Davis. Following the final he commented that "I learned a lot from the match against Thorburn in the Fidelity and from various matches against [Steve] Davis". Taylor remarked that Hendry was "just what the game needs."
Hendry and Hallett won the 1987 World Doubles Championship, defeating Taylor and Thorburn 12âÂÂ6 in the final. Hendry captured his second ranking title at the British Open with a 13âÂÂ2 victory against Hallett in the final. He also won his third consecutive Scottish Professional Championship, after which Doyle said that he would not be defending that title because "Stephen's fellow Scottish professionals are not good enough to test him." At the 1988 World Snooker Championship Hendry lost 12âÂÂ13 to White in the second round after leading 10âÂÂ7. He was named the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year for 1987, and reached number four in the 1988âÂÂ89 snooker world rankings.
Although he failed to win a ranking title during the 1988âÂÂ89 season, he was runner-up to Doug Mountjoy at the 1988 UK Championship and won the 1989 Masters on his debut appearance, defeating John Parrott 9âÂÂ6 in the final. In the 1989 Irish Masters final he led Alex Higgins 4âÂÂ0 and was later two frames ahead with three to play, but lost 8âÂÂ9. He reached his first world championship semi-final in 1989 but lost 9âÂÂ16 to the eventual champion Davis. He moved up a place to third in the 1989âÂÂ90 rankings, behind Davis and Parrott.
The 1989âÂÂ90 season saw Hendry defeat James Wattana in the final of the ranking 1989 Asian Open and beat Terry Griffiths to win the invitational 1989 Scottish Masters. He took another ranking title at the 1989 Dubai Classic. He won his first UK Championship, defeating Davis 16âÂÂ12 in the final of the 1989 edition, having won the first four frames but then seen Davis close to a single frame behind at 10âÂÂ11. Hendry remarked after the match that this was "The highest point in my career... I had to prove I could beat Steve over a long distance." He added that he felt he still had a lot to learn about snooker, and in particular from playing Davis. In retaining the Masters title, defeating Parrott 9âÂÂ4 in the final, he became only the second player to win the tournament in consecutive years.
He won his first world championship at the 1990 tournament, beating Jimmy White 18âÂÂ12 in the final. He became the second player to win all three Triple Crown events in the same season, after Davis had first achieved the feat two seasons earlier. Aged 21 years and 106 days, he superseded Alex Higgins as the sport's youngest world champion, a record he still holds as of 2025. In the first round of the championship he was level at 7âÂÂ7 with Alain Robidoux before winning 10âÂÂ7, then beat Tony Meo in the second round and Darren Morgan in the quarters-finals. He was 0âÂÂ4 and 9âÂÂ11 behind against John Parrott in the semi-finals, but prevailed 16âÂÂ11. He became world number one for the first time at the end of the season. After this, he gained the Pontins Professional and 1990 London Masters titles.
Hendry became the first player to win five ranking titles in a single season in the 1990âÂÂ91 season. He won his second UK Championship, defeating Davis 16âÂÂ15 in the final. Hendry took a 6âÂÂ1 lead, but Davis was a frame from victory and 49âÂÂ0 ahead in the 30th frame when Hendry took that frame with a break of 57 and then added the deciding frame. He won his third Masters, defeating Hallett 9âÂÂ8 in the final after trailing 0âÂÂ7 and 2âÂÂ8. However, he failed to retain his world title at the 1991 World Championship; he lost 11âÂÂ13 to Steve James in the quarter-finals, despite having led 11âÂÂ9, falling victim to the Crucible curse. In the 1991âÂÂ92 season, he won his fourth Masters, defeating Parrott 9âÂÂ4 in the final. He won his second world title at the 1992 World Championship, where he came from 8âÂÂ14 behind against White in the final to win ten consecutive frames for an 18âÂÂ14 victory. He achieved his first maximum break in professional competition while playing Thorne in the Matchroom League.
In the 1992âÂÂ93 season, Hendry won his fifth consecutive Masters, beating Wattana 9âÂÂ5 in the final. He won his third world title at the 1993 World Championship, defeating White 18âÂÂ5 in the final with a <dfn>session to spare</dfn>, having lost just 25 frames in the tournament. In the 1993âÂÂ94 season, he reached the final of the UK Championship but lost 6âÂÂ10 to 17-year-old Ronnie O'Sullivan, who won his maiden ranking title at the event. Hendry reached a sixth consecutive Masters final but lost 8âÂÂ9 to his compatriot Alan McManus, his first defeat at the Masters. He won his fourth world title at the 1994 World Championship, despite fracturing his left arm just below the elbow the evening before his second-round match and keeping the arm in a sling when he was not playing. He clinched an 18âÂÂ17 victory in the deciding frame of the final after White missed a off . It was the last time White featured in a World Championship final, having lost all six finals he contested, four of them to Hendry.
In 1994, Hendry was awarded an MBE. In the 1994âÂÂ95 season, he won his third UK Championship, defeating Ken Doherty 10âÂÂ5 in the final and setting a new record for the most century breaks in a professional match, with seven. This still holds the record for the most centuries in a 19-frame match as well as jointly holding the record (with Judd Trump and Ding Junhui) for the most centuries in any professional contest. Hendry ended the season by winning the 1995 World Championship, defeating O'Sullivan 13âÂÂ8 in the quarter-finals, White 16âÂÂ12 in the semi-finals, and Nigel Bond 18âÂÂ9 in the final to claim his fifth world title. His break of 147 in the semi-final against White was only the third in the history of the championship.
Hendry again won all three Triple Crown events in the 1995âÂÂ96 season: He defeated Peter Ebdon 10âÂÂ3 to win his fourth UK Championship, defeated O'Sullivan 10âÂÂ5 to win his sixth Masters, and defeated Ebdon 18âÂÂ12 in the 1996 World Championship final to win his sixth world title, equalling the modern-era record held by Ray Reardon and Steve Davis. Hendry remains the only player to win all three Triple Crown events in two different seasons. He was named the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year for a second time in 1996. In the 1996âÂÂ97 season, Hendry won his fifth UK Championship, coming from 4âÂÂ8 behind to defeat John Higgins 10âÂÂ9 in the final. In the best-of-17 Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge final, he led O'Sullivan 8âÂÂ2 but O'Sullivan won six consecutive frames to take the match to a deciding frame. However, Hendry won the decider with a maximum break for a 9âÂÂ8 victory, making him the only player to make a maximum break in the deciding frame of a final. At the 1997 World Championship, Hendry reached a sixth consecutive world final but lost 12âÂÂ18 to Doherty, his first defeat in a world final and his first loss at the Crucible since 1991. His 29 consecutive victories at the Crucible over that period remains a record as of 2022.
Hendry won only one ranking title in the 1997âÂÂ98 season, despite reaching two of the three Triple Crown finals. He lost the UK Championship final 6âÂÂ10 to O'Sullivan. In the 1998 Masters final, he led Williams 9âÂÂ6, needing just one frame for victory. However, Williams took the match to a deciding frame and went on to win on a . At the 1998 World Championship, Hendry lost 4âÂÂ10 to White in the first round. After eight consecutive seasons as world number one, he fell to second place in the rankings behind the new world champion John Higgins. In the 1998âÂÂ99 season, he suffered a shock 0âÂÂ9 whitewash to world number 73 Marcus Campbell in the first round of the UK Championship. It was then the heaviest professional defeat of Hendry's career, surpassing his 1âÂÂ9 loss to Thorburn in the semi-finals of the 1987 International Open. Afterwards, Hendry stated that his confidence had "drained and drained" and that he would have to go "back to the drawing board" to recover his form. However, at the 1999 World Championship, he defeated O'Sullivan 17âÂÂ13 in the semi-finals and Williams 18âÂÂ11 in the final to win his seventh and last world title at age 30. Hendry held the modern-era record of seven world titles outright for the next 23 years, until O'Sullivan equalled it in 2022.
In the 1999âÂÂ2000 season, Hendry won the British Open, where he made the fifth 147 break of his career, which was also the first maximum made in a ranking final. However, he suffered a surprise 7âÂÂ10 defeat to debutant Stuart Bingham in the first round of the 2000 World Championship. In the 2000âÂÂ01 season, Hendry failed to win any ranking titles for the first time since the 1988âÂÂ89 season, reaching only one final. In the 2001âÂÂ02 season, he won the European Open and came close to an eighth world title at the 2002 World Championship, where he defeated the defending champion O'Sullivan 17âÂÂ13 in the semi-finals but lost 17âÂÂ18 to Ebdon in the final. This was Hendry's last appearance in a World Championship final, after featuring in nine of the thirteen finals held between 1990 and 2002. He made 16 centuries during the 2002 event, a record that stood outright for the next 20 years until Williams equalled it in 2022.
Hendry won the Welsh Open in the 2002âÂÂ03 season and won the British Open in the 2003âÂÂ04 season. Returning from the Euro-Asia Masters Challenge in September 2003, he had his cue broken in the luggage hold of his international flight, where players had been required to stow their cues since the 11 September 2001 attacks. Hendry had received the cue as a gift from his parents when he was 14 and had used it when winning all seven of his world titles. Hendry reached the semi-finals of the 2004 World Championship but lost 4âÂÂ17 to O'Sullivan with a session to spare, his heaviest defeat in a world semi-final. In the 2004âÂÂ05 season, he was runner-up at the Welsh Open, losing 8âÂÂ9 to O'Sullivan. The following month, he defeated fellow Scot Graeme Dott 9âÂÂ7 to win the Malta Cup, his 36th and last ranking title.
Hendry regained the world number one ranking for the 2005âÂÂ06 season due to his consistency in reaching the latter stages of tournaments without, by his own admission, reproducing his form of old. It was his ninth season as world number one, which holds the record under the annual ranking system used until 2010. The following season, Hendry took a 4âÂÂ1 lead over O'Sullivan in the 2006 UK Championship quarter-finals, only for O'Sullivan to unexpectedly concede the best-of-17-frame match during the sixth frame. After O'Sullivan walked out of the arena, Hendry was awarded a 9âÂÂ1 win. He came from 5âÂÂ7 down in the semi-finals to defeat Dott 9âÂÂ7 but lost the final 6âÂÂ10 to Ebdon. It was the last time Hendry reached a ranking final. Following a disappointing 2007âÂÂ08 season, he reached his 12th world semi-final at the 2008 World Championship, surpassing Davis's previous record of 11 semi-finals. Aged 39, he was the oldest player to reach the semi-finals since Griffiths in 1992, but he lost 6âÂÂ17 to O'Sullivan with a session to spare. He lost all eight frames in the second session of the match, his first session whitewash at the Crucible.
Hendry also had a poor 2008âÂÂ09 season, although his 10âÂÂ7 win over Williams in the first round of the 2009 World Championship guaranteed that he would remain in the top sixteen of the rankings for the following season. He defeated Ding 13âÂÂ10 in the second round, winning his 1000th frame at the Crucible. In the quarter-finals, he made a maximum break against Shaun Murphy, but lost the match 11âÂÂ13. Aged 40, he was at the time the oldest player to make a maximum in a ranking tournament and the second player after O'Sullivan to make more than one 147 at the Crucible. Hendry ended the season ranked 10th, the first time he had been outside the top eight since the 1987âÂÂ88 season.
In the 2010âÂÂ11 season, Hendry defeated White 9âÂÂ8 in the first round of the 2010 UK Championship but lost 6âÂÂ9 in the second round to Williams. Afterward, he expressed his frustration with his form and revealed that he has been suffering from "the yips" for ten years, leaving him unable to through the ball and causing him to miss routine shots. He lost 3âÂÂ6 to reigning world champion Neil Robertson in the Masters. He made his tenth professional maximum break at the Welsh Open against Stephen Maguire but lost the match. At the China Open he whitewashed Matthew Stevens 5âÂÂ0 in the first round, before losing 2âÂÂ5 to Ding in the second round. At the 2011 World Championship, he beat Joe Perry in a first-round decider but again lost in the second round to Selby, this time by a score of 4âÂÂ13. Hendry was becoming frustrated with his lack of success at tournaments, and agreed with his wife Mandy that he would try playing for another season, and then retire if he did not achieve success. He later wrote, "Having only just turned forty it seems somewhat premature, but I don't think I can spend much longer putting up with such humiliation, match after match, tournament after tournament, season after season."
In the 2011âÂÂ12 season, after losing to Robert Milkins in the first round of the Shanghai Masters, Hendry fell to 21st in the world rankings, ending his 23 years in the top 16. During a visit to China to play an exhibition match, he discussed the possibility of working with Chinese billard table manufactuers Joy to promote Chinese eight-ball. Hendry was still very unhappy with his tourament results, and on his return to the UK he agreed with Mandy that he would accept the company's offer, and retire from competition after the 2012 World Championship.
He missed the Masters for the first time since his 1989 debut and had to qualify to reach the main stages of subsequent ranking events. He qualified for the UK Championship but lost 3âÂÂ6 to Maguire in the first round. He lost 1âÂÂ5 to Wattana in the German Masters qualifiers, failing to reach the final stages of a ranking tournament for the first time in 15 years. He qualified for the Welsh Open by whitewashing Kurt Maflin 4âÂÂ0 and then defeated reigning Masters champion Robertson 4âÂÂ1 in the first round. However, he lost 0âÂÂ4 to Mark Allen in the second round. After defeating Mike Dunn 5âÂÂ2 in qualifying, Hendry played Robertson again in the first round of the World Open but lost 3âÂÂ5. Hendry defeated Yu Delu 5âÂÂ1 to qualify for the China Open, where he defeated Martin Gould 5âÂÂ4 in the first round, winning on the final black. He played Robertson for the third consecutive time in a ranking event but lost 3âÂÂ5.
Hendry ensured he would make his 27th consecutive appearance at the main stage of the 2012 World Championship when he defeated Yu 10âÂÂ6 in the qualifiers. He made a 147 in his 10âÂÂ4 first-round defeat of Bingham, his third maximum break at the Crucible and the 11th of his career. He defeated the defending champion Higgins 13âÂÂ4 in the second round, his first victory over Higgins in a ranking event since 2003, to reach his 19th world quarter-final. However, after losing 2âÂÂ13 to Maguire in the quarter-finals, Hendry announced his retirement from professional snooker at the age of 43, citing dissatisfaction with his standard of play and difficulty balancing competitive, commercial, and personal commitments. He stated that he had decided three months earlier to retire at the end of the season.
In August 2020, Hendry reached the semi-finals of the World Seniors Championship. The following month, citing improvements in his form and confidence, he accepted a two-year invitational tour card to the main World Snooker Tour for the 2020âÂÂ21 and 2021âÂÂ22 seasons. After delaying his return to competition several times during the 2020âÂÂ21 season, he played his first professional match in almost nine years at the 2021 Gibraltar Open, losing 1âÂÂ4 to Matthew Selt in the first round. At the 2021 World Championship, he won his first-round qualifier 6âÂÂ3 against Jimmy White, but he lost 1âÂÂ6 to Xu Si in the second qualifying round.
During the 2021âÂÂ22 season, Hendry competed in six ranking events between August and November but did not progress beyond the last 64 in any of them. He defeated Chris Wakelin 3âÂÂ2 in the first round of the 2021 British Open, but Gary Wilson whitewashed him 3âÂÂ0 in the second round. He defeated Michael White 4âÂÂ1 to qualify for the 2021 English Open but was whitewashed 0âÂÂ4 in the first round by Wakelin, scoring just 18 points in the match. He lost 0âÂÂ4 to Allan Taylor in the 2021 Scottish Open qualifiers, 3âÂÂ5 to Li Hang in the January 2022 European Masters qualifiers, and 2âÂÂ5 to Gao Yang in the 2022 German Masters qualifiers. After a 1âÂÂ6 defeat to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the first round of the 2021 UK Championship, he did not compete in any further professional events for the remainder of the season. He opted not to enter the 2022 World Championship qualifiers, stating that he had not been practising enough to be competitive, but confirmed that he intended to continue on the tour.
In April 2022, Hendry's invitational tour card was renewed for a further two seasons, despite complaints from some players and concerns from snooker's governing body about his limited participation on the tour. His 2022âÂÂ23 season began with a 0âÂÂ5 whitewash by Mark Joyce in qualifying for the 2022 European Masters and a 1âÂÂ4 defeat to Zhang Anda in qualifying for the 2022 British Open. He withdrew from the 2022 Northern Ireland Open and also withdrew from the 2022 UK Championship when the qualifying schedule conflicted with his broadcasting work for ITV at the 2022 Champion of Champions. He played his third professional match of the season in the 2023 German Masters qualifiers, where he was whitewashed 0âÂÂ5 by Matthew Stevens. At the 2023 World Championship, he lost 4âÂÂ10 in the first qualifying round to his ex-wife's nephew James Cahill, after which he said he still had "a very distant dream" that he would one day compete at the Crucible again.
Hendry's 2023âÂÂ24 season began with a 2âÂÂ4 defeat to Muhammad Asif in qualifying for the 2023 British Open. After losing 0âÂÂ4 to Fergal O'Brien in qualifying for the 2023 English Open, Hendry stated in a podcast interview that he was considering retiring again, calling his performances "embarrassing" and acknowledging that he had not been practicing for events. He led Tien Pengfei 2âÂÂ0 in the 2023 International Championship qualifiers but lost the match 3âÂÂ6. He lost 2âÂÂ4 to Matthew Stevens in qualifying for the 2023 Northern Ireland Open and lost by the same score to Ross Muir in qualifying for the 2024 Welsh Open. He opted not to enter the 2024 World Snooker Championship qualifiers, meaning that he finished a second consecutive season without a professional win. In June 2024, he declined the World Snooker Tour's offer to renew his invitational tour card for a further two seasons. This marked his second retirement from professional snooker. "I know the game inside out, I still know all the shots, but unfortunately the body is not performing like my brain wants it to," he stated. He had lost 17 of the 20 professional matches he played since returning to the tour, including 14 consecutive defeats.
At the time of his initial retirement in 2012, Hendry was the most successful player in professional snooker history. He had earned almost ã9 million in prize money, more than any other player. He held records for the most world titles in the modern era (7), the most ranking titles (36), the most Triple Crown titles (18), the most centuries in professional competition (775), and (jointly with O'Sullivan) the most maximum breaks (11). However, O'Sullivan, as of 2026, has equalled Hendry's record of 7 world titles, won 41 ranking titles and 23 Triple Crown titles, and made over 1,300 centuries in professional competition. John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, and Judd Trump have also surpassed Hendry in terms of career century breaks. O'Sullivan now holds the record for the most maximum breaks, with 17, while Higgins is second with 13.
Former world champions Dennis Taylor, Ray Reardon and John Higgins have argued that O'Sullivan has superseded Hendry as the sport's greatest player. In 2015 Steve Davis said that he considered O'Sullivan to be the best player but Hendry the greatest winner. White, speaking in 2013, also regarded O'Sullivan as the best player. Del Hill, a snooker coach who has worked with some of the game's top players, considers O'Sullivan the best player "without a shadow of a doubt" but as of 2015 believed that O'Sullivan had "under-achieved" next to Hendry. Sean Ingle, chief sports journalist for The Guardian, continued to make the case for Hendry as the sport's greatest player as of 2022.
In 2022, O'Sullivan dismissed the suggestion that he is the greatest player and identified Hendry as the greatest due to his having dominated the sport in the 1990s. Hendry himself has identified O'Sullivan as the greatest player he has played against but considers he would triumph in a match if both players played at their peak. After O'Sullivan equalled Hendry's seven world titles in 2022, each player paid tribute to the other, with O'Sullivan saying: "[Hendry] used to play six hours a day and didn't miss a ball. There is no one dominating the sport like he did, like Tiger Woods did". Hendry said of O'Sullivan during the 2022 World Championship: "You cannot play better snooker than that. He is just supreme in all departments". Shaun Murphy admired Hendry's discipline and sought to emulate his approach; he referred to Hendry as "the ultimate pro".
In their 2005 book Masters of the Baize, Luke Williams and Paul Gadsby rated Hendry as the greatest player of all time, writing that a significant factor in this was "playing to his maximum potential under the highest amounts of pressure". The snooker journalist Phil Yates regards Hendry as "the greatest pressure player of all time".
Hendry lived in a flat in South Queensferry during the early part of his professional snooker career. At age 16, Hendry began dating 17-year-old Amanda Tart. Despite strong disapproval from his then-manager Doyle, who feared that a girlfriend would distract him from snooker, the two continued to see each other. They married on 30 June 1995, shortly after his fifth world title win. Their son was born the following year. The couple struggled to have more children and underwent multiple IVF procedures. In 2003, they had a stillborn son. They subsequently had another son, born in 2004. Amanda's sister Maria, a leading female snooker player in the 1980s and 1990s, married Patrick Cahill; their son James Cahill has also played snooker professionally.
In the 2010s, Hendry underwent financial struggles and divorce. In August 2011, HM Revenue and Customs successfully applied to Glasgow Sheriff Court to liquidate the assets of Stephen Hendry Snooker Ltd, the company set up to manage his sponsorships and promotion, following its failure to pay an ã85,000 tax bill. In 2014, two years after his initial retirement, HendryâÂÂthen aged 45âÂÂleft his wife to pursue a relationship with 26-year-old children's entertainer and actress Lauren Thundow, whom he met while she was selling merchandise at Snooker Legends exhibition events. He began living with Thundow in the south of England. Amanda Hendry subsequently accused him of cheating on her with a woman half his age, of leaving her "destitute", and of rarely visiting his children. During divorce proceedings, accountants failed to uncover significant wealth held by Hendry; his wife said she did not know what had happened to his tournament winnings, commenting "we never spent any of it". In 2021, she sold the couple's former home in Auchterarder, which she had received as part of their divorce settlement, for around ã875,000.
Hendry's father Gordon died from cancer in 2017 at age 68. In 2018, he published his autobiography, Me and the Table. In 2022, he launched a YouTube channel, Stephen Hendry's Cue Tips, which presents instructional content, player interviews, and challenges. He has a single-figure golf handicap and enjoys poker and football; he supports Scottish team Heart of Midlothian.
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The following table lists performances in non-ranking tournaments the player participated in, which were only held once in the professional career of the player:
<nowiki>*</nowiki> It was decided by aggregate score over five frames. <br/> <nowiki>**</nowiki> There was no play-off. Title decided on league table only.
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