"I don't want to fall behind" – Mikuru Suzuki admits being "jealous" of Beau Greaves after setting up Deta Hedman duel at Lakeside

Mikuru Suzuki says she is “jealous” of rising star Beau Greaves’ youth and rapid progression, admitting the English sensation is pushing her to keep raising her own levels as the 2025 WDF World Championship gets underway.

“I think she’s an amazing player,” Suzuki said in her post-match interview after securing a winning return to Lakeside on Saturday night. “She’s still very young, and honestly I’m a bit jealous of that! But age isn’t everything — I don’t want to fall behind, so I still want to keep pushing hard.”

Her comments came moments after she secured a tense 2–1 victory over Kirsi Viinikainen on her long-awaited return to the Lakeside stage.

The match wasn’t her sharpest, but Suzuki’s experience told — and the win sets up a heavyweight second-round meeting with Lakeside legend Deta Hedman.

Despite the victory, Suzuki was frank in assessing her performance. “I actually don’t think either of us played very well overall,” she said. “But within that, I think both of us finished well, and that probably made the difference.”

It was a scrappy contest defined more by composure than power scoring, but for Suzuki — returning to the stage where she announced herself in 2019 — it was a meaningful first step.

“Once I’m back here, of course I want to win,” she said. “I’m just trying to take it one match at a time and keep moving forward.”

Her progression now sets up one of the standout clashes of the early rounds. Suzuki didn’t hide her respect for Hedman or the scale of the task ahead.

“She’s achieved so much,” she said. “I just want to do everything I can and try to get the win.”

Asked whether she believes she can go all the way again, Suzuki struck her familiar mix of ambition and composure.

“My practice has been good, so I’m hoping I can build from here,” she said. “Of course the aim is to win, and I want to fight for that.”

As she heads into a high-profile clash with Deta Hedman, Suzuki leaves the opening round knowing her game has room to sharpen — but also that she’s very much in the fight. With confidence in her preparation and a clear drive to keep pushing, her Lakeside return now moves into far more dangerous territory, and her ambitions for the 2025 WDF World Championship will be tested quickly.