Trans player Van Leuven suffers straight sets defeat at World Darts Championship

Noa-Lynn van Leuven’s quest to become the first transgender darts player to win a match on stage at Alexandra Palace ended with a swift straight sets defeat against two-time world champion Peter Wright.

Van Leuven, who made her debut last year when losing against Kevin Doets, is one of five players to qualify from the Professional Darts Corporation’s women’s series or world matchplay, struggled throughout on her doubles in winning only three legs.

Wright, who came dressed as the Grinch, was not at his best but was far more clinical when it mattered, hitting nine out of 16 darts at a double. Van Leuven matched Wright in the scoring and also had 16 darts at a double but was successful just three times.

Van Leuven’s participation on a women’s tour that has been dominated this year by Beau Greaves has prompted a mixed reaction from her competitors. She is fourth on the order of merit.

British player Deta Hedman forfeited a match against Van Leuven, who was born male, at the Denmark Open in May 2024 in protest of her inclusion. The World Darts Federation updated its rules in July to restrict participation in women’s tournaments to only players who are female by birth. Van Leuven, who is now 29 and began her transition when she was a teenager, has remained eligible to play in the PDC women’s series.

The PDC follows the guidelines set out by the Darts Regulation Authority which, in turn, has followed guidance from the International Olympic Committee. The IOC’s 10 principles include “no presumption of advantage” and “inclusion”. They have advised sports to individually consider “disproportionate advantage, which needs therefore to be mitigated”. 

The IOC, however, are currently reviewing their policy, with president Kirsty Coventry having said that she favours a blanket policy that would only allow people who have not gone through male puberty in the women’s category.