Noa-Lynn van Leuven has hit out at ‘toxic b*****s’ who oppose her participation in women’s darts after the Dutch player booked her place in the World Darts Championship. The 28-year-old will become the first-ever transgender player to feature at the tournament later this year.
Van Leuven booked her place at Alexandra Palace by beating world No. 1 Beau Greaves to win the Women’s Series 21. An excellent 5-3 victory on Saturday has claimed her spot in the biggest darts event of the calendar.
Some female players have raised concerns over coming up against Van Leuven, who transitioned in 2021. Deta Hedman, who has twice refused to play trans opponents, pulled out of a match in May against Van Leuven.
However, Van Leuven insists that she receives support from younger players on the tour. She claims that those stars secretly wonder why there is “commotion” over her participation and has slammed “conservative” women who oppose her playing.
“They secretly tell me that they don’t understand the commotion,” Van Leuven told Dutch website nu.nl.
“But there are a lot of conservative, toxic b****** on the women’s tour. They see me as a threat.”
It comes after Van Leuven won gold with the Dutch team and in the pairs competition at the WDF World Cup. Ahead of the tournament, a members’ meeting concluded that transgender players would no longer be welcome at WDF events.
Van Leuven criticised that decision, saying: “I thought the world should know. This is discrimination. We have been thrown back 40 years with the sport of darts.”
Some opponents to Van Leuven’s participation in women-only events have raised concerns that she is winning more often than when she played in male competitions. However, she insists that is because she now feels more comfortable and can throw better.
“I throw well now because I feel more comfortable,” she said. “It’s a matter of putting money and hours into it. Not many women do that, but I do. I’ve proven I can win over men, too.”
Van Leuven has won four titles this year and puts her success down to hard work. She has also opened up on abuse and revealed that she suffered panic attacks.
She explained: “People send the most terrible messages and then go on preparing their pasta. They have no idea the impact it has on my life. I didn’t dare go out on the street for several weeks and had panic attacks. It did take a while for that fear to go away.”
Asked if she expects it to continue, Van Leuven responded: “We’ll see. I don’t care. Standing there as the first Dutch woman is already the ultimate middle finger for me.”