Van der Voort tempers expectations around Sherrock: "I don't see her or any other woman winning a televised tournament anytime soon"

Fallon Sherrock caused a sensation at the Grand Slam of Darts last week by reaching the quarter-finals. Fellow pro Vincent van der Voort does not think she is a contender for the next World Darts Championship.

Van der Voort spoke to Sportnieuws.nl for an explanation why it took so long for a woman to reach so far in a TV tournament.

"Because women have always played against each other, maybe they have never really been challenged. The funny thing is that Fallon has played a lot of tournaments on the Challenge Tour. That is the second highest level. She just can't seem to win there. She has not really shown anything yet. On the stage, she suddenly succeeds. It just suits her very well. Very special, because she is a shy woman. You don't really get to know her. She can play darts very well. That has been proven. She gave Peter Wright a hard time."

The PDC World Championship is coming up in a few weeks. "I don't see her or any other woman winning a televised tournament any time soon", says Van der Voort. "For that, the level has to go up a lot. Then they will have to get a Tour Card so they can play against the best players in the world week in week out. I don't believe they will win the World Championship in one go."

How does Van der Voort assess the level of the ladies? "At this moment Sherrock and Lisa Ashton really stand out. After that there is a gap. Whether it will ever be 50/50 between the men and women? I don't see that happening for a while."