Transgender Darts Star Noa-Lynn van Leuven Makes History

Noa-Lynn van Leuven made history this past weekend as the first transgender star to ever play in the Grand Slam of Darts. The 28-year-old Dutchwoman won two rounds before ultimately losing 5-0 to three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen in the Group G clash.

The game didn’t go without it’s own complications. Sections of the crowd audibly booed the 28-year-old transgender woman as she made her way to the stage, although the heckling appeared to die down as the match progressed.

The Grand Slam of Darts is an invitational tournament that allows both men and women to play. Van Leuven qualified for the tournament through her placing in the PDC Women’s Order of Merit. However, she stated that her experience on the women’s tour was full of “hostility from conservative, toxic b******.”

According to Sky Sports, Van Leuven was given permission to play in women’s darts competitions by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) after her transition in 2021. Chief executive Matt Porter has since defended the decision to allow transgender athletes to compete. The PDC modeled its policy on transgender inclusion from policies that other sports bodies as well as the International Olympics Committee have put into place.

Reigning darts world champion Luke Humphries fiercely defended the up and coming darts star. “I just look at her as a darts player. She is in the competition on merit, she has not broken any rules, she is doing what she is allowed to do.” Humphries says that he doesn’t get “too involved in politics, ” instead simply seeing Van Leuven as his opponent.

In the sensationalized debate of whether or not transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in major sports, Humphries approach is much-needed. His comments come in a deeply divided moment for transgender acceptance in sports. British star Deta Hedman refused to play a quarter-final match to van Leuven at the Denmark Open in May.

“I said I wouldn’t play a man in a ladies event,” Hedman wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter after she forfeited the match.

Due to rigorous medical requirements, tests, and ongoing monitoring of HRT levels, transgender athletes are scrutinized more than their cis counterparts in the sports world. A study funded by the International Olympic Committee and reviewed by the British Journal of Sports Medicine in April of 2024 found that trans women athletes may be at a relative disadvantage to cis women athletes.

Van Leuven’s opponent, Michael van Gerwen, stood in support of the young darts star and told her to block out the noise. He made it clear that he didn’t care about her transgender status, and neither should anyone else. “It’s just heartbreaking,” van Gerwen said. “She does what she does, and she can play terrific darts.”

Photo courtesy of social media