Beau Greaves should have made a name for herself when she scored a stunning victory over world No. 1 Luke Littler at the PDC World Youth Championships last October.
While many outlets gave the 22-year-old, who has already won more than 50 titles in the PDC women’s series, a well-deserved moment in the sun to many others, they simply simplified her gender with headlines such as “Littler beaten by woman” and “Littler suffers shocking defeat in battle of the sexes.”
The victory over Littler was truly a defining moment for Greaves. Yes, she was the first woman to reach the World Youth finals, and yes, given Littler’s dominance in the sport, it was a surprising victory, but there has been too much focus on her gender, and is that hurting Greaves’ long-term future prospects in the sport?
“It’s a double-edged sword, isn’t it?” said Sky Sports pundit and professional player Laura Turner. “Because we want publicity, we want role models, we want people to notice us, but it should be noticed for the right reasons and that’s just the quality of play.”
Turner was reflecting on the pioneering achievements of players before Greaves, who exploded onto the darts scene with three consecutive WDF World Darts Championships and two-time Women’s World Matchplay Champion.
Before Greaves, Lisa Ashton was the first woman to earn a tour card at Q School (2020-21). Fallon Sherlock, the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Darts Championship (2019). Further back in 2009, Anastasia Dobromyslova became the first woman to defeat a male professional on TV in a Grand Slam of darts.
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Fallon Sherlock defeated Ted Evetts to become the first woman to defeat a man at the 2019/20 World Championship.
“When Lisa was winning, when Fallon (Sherlock) was winning before Bo came in and did all these amazing things, I remember thinking, ‘Wow, it’s amazing that a woman is playing darts with a man.’
“Then the narrative started to change. Well, no, it’s just one darts player playing against another darts player. And that’s where you want the narrative to be, especially at the top level.”
“When she beat Beau Greaves’ Luke Littler in the semi-final, it was just an incredible dart. There was really nothing to say about it other than the world No1 and world champion had just been knocked out.”
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Greaves previously said he was reluctant to “play against young guys” at the PDC World Championship at the end of 2024, saying: “I don’t feel like I can win it.”
But now, after competing twice at Alexandra Palace and earning a PDC Pro Tour card for the feat, she became the first woman to land a nine-darter on tour in February, those doubts are confirmed. She is now confident that she deserves to be on stage competing against the best.
Ahead of this year’s World Championships, Greaves spoke about helping other women follow in her footsteps. She said: “Female players get more exposure by being able to play against big players and big names on a regular basis. That’s probably why they don’t play as well against male players when it comes to things like World Championships and Grand Slams, because you only get two chances a year and you get thrown into it a little bit.”
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Beau Greaves becomes the first woman to land a nine darter on the PDC Pro Tour! X Credit @OfficialPDC.
compete on a level playing field
It’s clear that the phrase “battle of the sexes” has enjoyed new momentum in recent months, with Aryna Sabalenka’s exhibition tennis match against Nick Kyrgios in December.
And while tennis has a long history of male versus female showdowns, from the infamous Bobby Riggs vs. Billie Jean King match in 1973 that was watched on TV by 90 million people around the world to Jimmy Connors vs. Martina Navratilova in 1992, some observers say the showdown between Sabalenka and Krygios damaged the women’s sport.
Sabalenka and Kyrgios both dismissed these claims. World number one Sabalenka said she was there to “bring great tennis while having fun”, while Australia’s Kyrgios added it was “great for the growth of the sport” and “shows unity”.
However, when it comes to darts, there are no special gimmicks or novel charity matches. Women compete against men on the Pro Tour on a level playing field. That’s what Turner wants sports fans to enjoy.
“You don’t have to shy away from the fact that someone is a woman because you want them to be a role model for young girls. But it also doesn’t have to be the only thing people talk about.”
Mr Turner also praised the female players who have been thrust into the spotlight for their historic feats, and how they have managed to cope with the pressures of being in the spotlight, particularly in a sport where dartitis – a psychological condition that prevents players from releasing darts smoothly – can severely impact a player’s performance.
“For Fallon, it was a lot of attention that she got, from having almost nothing to having a lot. She had to learn to deal with it, to work with the media, to start off by being interviewed by a few people before competing in her first world championship, and to overcome it all with a win the next day.
“You have to try to stay grounded. Beau is one of those players who likes to stay grounded. She always has her family network around her.
“It’s a really good leveler for her. Just to be clear, she’s in the right place because she’s talked openly about what she suffered with Oche before and that she suffered from dartitis. And you don’t want to put too much pressure on someone to get back into the game.”
Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will defend his title and you can watch the match every Thursday on Sky Sports until May. Stream darts and other top sports now.
