Noa-Lynn van Leuven makes emotional statement after WDF's ruling on trans darters: "Another policy framed around ‘fairness’ that ultimately results in exclusion"

Noa-Lynn van Leuven, the most prominent transgender darts player in the world, has spoken out following the World Darts Federation’s decision to ban trans women from competing in the women’s category.

The Dutch star – a semi-finalist at last weekend’s Women’s World Matchplay – has been directly affected by the WDF’s new gender eligibility policy, which now only allows players assigned female at birth to enter its women’s tournaments. The ruling effectively ends Van Leuven’s WDF career on the women's side.

Reacting on Instagram, she said: "This past Monday, the WDF released a new policy regarding gender eligibility. I want to take a moment to respond. This decision does affect me personally — though, thankfully, not too severely at this point in time. But still, it hurts. Once again, it’s a loss for the trans community in sports. And that breaks my heart.”

The WDF said the policy change came after a vote by a majority of its affiliated national federations. In its statement, it described gender eligibility as “a complex and constantly evolving issue,” adding that the new policy followed “significant changes in scientific understanding, legislation, or the preferences of member nations.”

However, no scientific evidence currently supports the idea that trans women have a competitive advantage in darts – a sport where physical attributes play a minimal role.

Van Leuven continued: “As a trans person in the darts world, I know how vital inclusion is — not just on paper, but in practice. It’s disheartening to see yet another policy framed around ‘fairness’ that ultimately results in exclusion, without truly considering the people behind the labels.

The timing of the WDF’s announcement has sparked further scrutiny, coming after Van Leuven began achieving notable success on its tour. Dutch internationals Anca Zijlstra and Aileen de Graaf previously stepped down from the national team in protest at sharing a squad with a trans player, while women's darting icon Deta Hedman has previously withdrawn from events Van Leuven competed in.

Despite the setback, Van Leuven can still compete in women's events under the PDC banner. She has already enjoyed several strong performances on the Women’s Series this season and as mentioned, reached the semi-finals of the Women's World Matchplay last time out.