Darts player Noa-Lynn van Leuven is first trans woman to qualify for World Championships

Darts player Noa-Lynn van Leuven has qualified for the darts world championships – the first time a trans woman has done so.

Dutch player Noa-Lynn van Leuven, who transitioned in 2021 and has faced controversy for playing against cis women, qualified for her first PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) World Championship on Saturday (19 October) following a 5-3 victory over English star Beau Greaves in the 21st PDC Women’s Series in Leicester.

Van Leuven’s appearance at Alexander Palace in December will mark the first time a trans woman has secured a place in the mixed-gender competition, the largest and most prestigious event in competitive darts.

Commenting on her loss, Greaves said van Leuven “power-housed” her: “Sometimes in darts you’ve just got to allow it to happen and that was one of those days for me. Fair play to her, she played really well and she deserved the win. I fell asleep at times where I should have been hitting more trebles, and she punished me.”

However, not everyone has taken the result with such good grace.

Social media users misgendered the Dutch star, using he/him pronouns and calling her a “man”. Others labelled her a “cheater” and said she “stole a spot from a woman”.

This is not the first time Van Leuven has been attacked for being a trans darts player.

Earlier this year, she was thrust into the centre of a gender storm after she became the first trans player to win a PDC tour event, the mixed-gender Challenge Tour in Germany, and beat Ireland’s Katie Sheldon in the PDC Women’s Series.

People accused van Leuven of “only being trans to win darts matches”, and tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who has repeatedly opposed trans women competing against cis women, wrote on social media: “No male bodies in women’s sports please, not even in darts. Again, women get the short end of the stick and it stinks.”

Van Leuven’s involvement in the Dutch women’s darts team also prompted two compatriots, Anca Zijlstra and Aileen de Graaf, to quit the national squad, citing disagreement with rules around trans inclusion. 

In addition, British darts player Deta Hedman twice refused to take on van Leuven, first at the Denmark Open in May, then in a singles match in July, saying there shouldn’t be “a man in a women’s event”.

Van Leuven spoke out after that, saying that a “lot of people forget that I am also a human being” and telling PinkNews she things got so bad that she didn’t even want to step out of her to house for a while. She has also spoken about getting death threats and being left “haunted” by the abuse.

“In my DMs, on Instagram, it was getting so harsh, from bullying to death threats. I remember going home, I was at Schiphol [Amsterdam airport]. I looked around for one-and-a-half minutes before entering a bathroom because I was getting texts like: ‘If I ever see you walking into the ladies’ room after my daughter, I will kill you’,” she told the i news.

“They still haunt me to this day. It has impacted me massively.”

The Professional Darts Players Association notes on its website that governing body the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) encourages mixed-gender events in darts with the only exceptions being the Women’s Series and Women’s Matchplay operated by the PDC.

The DRA Trans & Gender Diverse Policy says transgender and non-binary players must be treated with respect, welcomed as any other member would be and accepted “in the gender they present”.

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