Transgender darts player Noa-Lynn van Leuven announces retirement following ban
Transgender darts player Noa-Lynn van Leuven has declared she has been “retired” following the Darts Regulation Authority’s landmark decision to ban trans women from competing in women’s events, reports BritPanorama.
The 29-year-old Dutch player, who claimed six PDC Women’s Series titles across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, shared her reaction in a video on Instagram after receiving notification of the ruling by email.
Van Leuven stated, “I just got an email. Apparently, I just got retired. Not by choice, but because I’m no longer allowed to compete.” She described the decision as “another huge hit for the trans community,” particularly in light of recent International Olympic Committee rulings.
She added, “Every day it’s getting harder and harder for trans people just to exist, to compete. If you think this stops with me, it doesn’t. We just want to be.”
The DRA announced on Thursday that its new eligibility policy takes effect immediately, restricting women’s tournaments to biological females only. This ruling, which has been praised for helping protect women’s sports, applies across all affiliated organisations, including the PDC, and covers events such as the Women’s Series where Van Leuven had previously competed.
The governing body launched a review of its Trans and Gender Diverse Policy in 2025, commissioning research from Dr Emma Hilton, a developmental biologist specialising in sex and sport categories. Dr Hilton’s report determined that darts qualifies as a “gender-affected sport” under Section 195 of the Equality Act 2010.
The DRA sought extensive legal guidance, taking into consideration the April 2025 UK Supreme Court judgment in the For Women Scotland case, along with a subsequent ruling from August 2025 involving Harriet Haynes and the English Blackball Pool Federation. Transgender players remain eligible to participate in open tournaments, which the DRA encourages regardless of biological sex, legal sex or gender identity.
Dr Hilton’s research identified several physical characteristics that provide male players an advantage over their female counterparts in darts, including superior height, longer limbs, broader shoulders, greater muscle mass, and stiffer tendons. These attributes enhance reach, stability, and throwing mechanics, ultimately affecting consistency and precision.
“Multiple, small-magnitude sex differences accumulate to generate male advantage over females in darts,” Dr Hilton concluded, noting that no single factor was deterministic for performance.
Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at the sex-based rights charity Sex Matters, praised the DRA’s announcement. She remarked, “Darts is a male-dominated world, played in pubs and clubs, and the top darts players are all men. Men’s physical advantages in darts may be small, but they all add up. That’s why women need their own tournaments.”
McAnena highlighted Van Leuven’s achievements, noting her six women’s titles and prize money during 2024 and 2025, as well as her representation of the Dutch women’s national team for three years, stating that female players had left the squad rather than compete alongside her. She added, “It’s great to see this rapid return to fairness for women players.”
In a sport where fairness and participation continue to be contested, the implications of these decisions demonstrate a complex interplay between competitive integrity and inclusivity. The darts community now faces a pivotal moment in balancing its traditions with emerging social realities.
