Noa-Lynn van Leuven aims for comeback in March: "I'm not stopping darts, I notice I need to recharge now"

Noa-Lynn van Leuven has no intention of ending her darts career for good. She did, however, take a break for the time being to work on her mental health. After her unsuccessful participation at PDC Q-School 2025, Van Leuven announced that she will put the darts away for a while.

"After Q-School, I decided to focus on my mental health in the coming time," Van Leuven explains to AD. "The past year has been tough and intense, and I notice that I need to recharge now. But to make it clear: I'm not stopping darts. This is a conscious step back to come back stronger than ever."

Because of the inserted break, Van Leuven did not compete in the first Challenge Tour tournaments of the season earlier this month. "But I'm working on being fit for the rest of the season. My next tournament is the Women's Series, where my focus is mainly on finding the fun in the game again," she explains.

The Dutch player failed to secure a Tour Card at Q-School, and in truth, didn't bring her best darts. "Unfortunately, I didn't play my best matches," she reflected on her participation at the time. "The truth is that my head hasn't been in the right place for a while. I've been struggling for months with my mental health every time a tournament comes up."

''I tried to push it aside, but it didn't work this time,'' Van Leuven continued. ''Focusing on darts while old traumas are rearing their heads due to the events of last year is not working. It's time to prioritize my mental health and work on getting better.''

Van Leuven was in the spotlight last year after Aileen de Graaf and Anca Zijlstra quit the Dutch women's team because they no longer wanted to be on a team with a transgender. Despite all the perils, Van Leuven qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Darts Championship via the Women's Series. In London, Van Leuven lost in the first round to Kevin Doets.