Champion Beau Greaves Insists on Gender Separation in Darts: “Women Aren’t on Par with Men”

In the wake of her triumphant victory at the 2024 Women’s World Matchplay, where she secured back-to-back titles with a decisive 6-3 win over Fallon Sherrock at the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool, Beau Greaves has candidly shared her thoughts on the state of women’s darts and the challenges faced by female players.

Greaves, who now holds the Women’s World Matchplay title and has automatically qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts and the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, has voiced strong opinions on the separation of the men’s and women’s games.

Reflecting on her recent success, Greaves expressed her strong belief that women and men should not compete directly against each other. 

“I’ve always been a believer that the men’s and women’s game should be kept separate,” Greaves told SportsBoom.com. 

“It’s hard for some of the ladies to perform all the time. Men don't have the same problems as we do, so you can't really compare it.”

Greaves acknowledged the challenge of competing at the highest level in mixed-gender events, particularly at prestigious tournaments like the PDC World Darts Championship. 

“I don’t think I'm ever going to be good enough to go on and win at Ally Pally. It’s just not going to happen, is it?” she admitted. 

“Look at any other sport. When are women better than men? It’s just not a thing. We have to be realistic about it. We’ll never be able to compete against the likes of Luke Humphries, and even Luke Littler.”

“Against ladies, I do fancy my chances. There’s something about it—genetics or your body or whatever—but I’ll always say men are better than women.”

Image credit: PDC

In light of her upcoming schedule, Greaves revealed that she will decline her place at Alexandra Palace to focus on the Lakeside Women’s World Championship. 

“For me personally, playing on the Alexandra Palace stage isn’t something I dream of. I never did. That’s why I’ll always opt to play in the Lakeside women’s and continue to support the women’s game,” she explained. 

“There’s a lot of opportunities for the ladies, but we need our own PDC World Championship.”

Greaves’ openness about the disparity between men’s and women’s darts highlights ongoing debates within the sport about gender equality and the need for dedicated platforms for female players.