Noa-Lynn van Leuven has admitted that she does not know what sort of reception she will get at the World Darts Championship. The 28-year-old, who is transgender, sealed her spot at Alexandra Palace with an impressive victory over Beau Greaves last month.
Van Leuven transitioned in 2021 and has faced calls to be banned from women’s-only events. She has faced opposition from fellow players, with Deta Hedman pulling out of a match against her due to her beliefs on facing transgender players.
Fans have also occasionally booed Van Leuven during tournaments, but she is determined to keep playing despite not knowing how she will be treated at events.
“Being one of the players that is actually in the spotlight and not in a really good way, I think it’s been okay,” she told Sky Sports. “I’m pretty strong. It’s rough going out on that stage but I do like it. I don’t know what to expect from the crowd.”
Van Leuven believes she will respond well if she is booed at next month’s World Darts Championship, having previously used hostility as fuel to step up her game.
“The other way around, it’s like every time something negative happens, I always come out really good,” she added. “I win a tournament or I just show great games after moments like that.
“I get so much support and so many people sending me text messages like: ‘You’re doing so well, keep going, just be you’.”
Reigning world champion Luke Humphries recently jumped to the defence of Van Leuven, insisting she is not doing anything wrong and urging her to stay away from social media for her own benefit.
“Of course I have sympathy for her because she’s a human and no-one likes being abused online,” said Humphries. “She gets it a lot but, unfortunately, we all do. I get it as well for no reason sometimes. It’s the way life is nowadays.
“The world can be a negative place and people just want to abuse people and bring them down and that’s just the way it is. The only thing I can suggest is to stay off social media, because it’s not a nice place at all.
“Every sport has their rules and she qualifies in the rules. So, as much as it might annoy people, she’s not doing anything that’s illegal, she’s not cheating. She’s doing what’s in the rules.
“If that changes, then things will change, but she’s not doing anything physically wrong. No-one can blame her. She’s well within the rights to do what she does at the moment.”
