Noa-Lynn van Leuven posted to Instagram: “Trying to focus on darts while dealing with old traumas that were triggered last year just doesn’t work. It’s time to prioritise my mental health and work on actually getting better. A step back to move forward”
Noa-Lynn van Leuven, the first transgender darts player to play in a televised PDC tournament against men, has announced she will “step back” from the sport for mental health reasons.
The 28-year-old created history last month by becoming the first transgender player to compete at the World Darts Championship, losing in the first round to Dutch compatriot Kevin Doets.
Van Leuven returned to action this week at Q-School, where players compete to earn PDC Tour Cards, but suffered another early elimination.
She subsequently took to Instagram to reveal she is taking a break from the sport.
“Q-School 2025 is over, and unfortunately, I didn’t play my best game. The truth is, my mind hasn’t really been in the right place for a while. I’ve been struggling with my mental health for months, and every time a tournament comes up, I’ve tried to push it aside. But this time, it caught up with me,” Van Leuven posted.