"Again women get the short end of the stick": Martina Navratilova hits out as trans darts player Noa-Lynn van Leuven enjoys title success

Martina Navratilova has long campaigned against transgender athletes being included in sports of their new gender and a story was highlighted over the weekend that the tennis legend hit out at of the darts player, Noa-Lynn van Leuven.

Van Leuven has enjoyed recent success winning on the Challenge Tour which includes both men and women as an open event as she defeated males en route to a title in Hildesheim last weekend. But she then played the PDC Women's Series in Wigan and defeated top players like Fallon Sherrock, Beau Greaves and Katie Sheldon en route to the title producing one of the best averages of the weekend in the process of 101.

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Widespread criticism followed with the PDC deciding to mute any replies on their official account as people took to quote tweets to share their displeasure. Aileen de Graaf and Anca Zijlstra, two prominent Dutch female players decided to quit their national team after Van Leuven was included over the weekend for upcoming fixtures as both had said they had essentially held their tongue long enough and tried to live with it.

"No males bodies in women’s sports please, not even in darts," wrote Navratilova. "Again, women get the short end of the stick either way. And it stinks," she wrote in a further tweet." In the past, Navratilova in particular has shunned swimming and athletics in particular for allowing this with darts the latest iteration of sport to do so. While the debate rumbles on, Navratilova has added her two cents about the topic which was a prominent news story going into the new week.

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Martina Navratilova

@Martina

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No males bodies in women’s sports please- not even in darts

Bożena

@Bozenka_2023

This Irish woman has lost a Women's darts title to a man. Grossly unfair and unsporting. I'm slightly heartened by the number of men in the comments equally outraged. #SaveWomensSports

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Martina Navratilova

@Martina

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Again- women get the short end of the stick either way. And it stinks.

REDUXX

@ReduxxMag

Two female darts players in the Netherlands have dropped out of the Dutch Women's Team in response to the inclusion of a trans-identified male. Aileen de Graaf and Anca Zijlstra left the sport after NoaLynn Van Leuven became the Women's Series 2 Champion. reduxx.info/netherlands-tw…

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