Beau Greaves is “phenomenally talented” but ultimately the women’s world No 1 must “choose” whether she wants to compete at the PDC World Darts Championship in the future, says PDC chief executive Matt Porter.
The 20-year-old will again miss the tournament at Alexandra Palace in 2024 – having rejected her place last season – and instead is focused on winning a third WDF Women’s World Championship title in a row. Players are only allowed to take part in one governing body’s World Championships.
Greaves lost in the first round on her Worlds debut to William O’Connor in 2022 and says, for now, she remains focused on playing women’s darts because competing against men “consistently” remains a challenge.
For Porter, Greaves’ decision to head to Lakeside once again is one that he currently “understands” but admits he would love to see Greaves walk out at Ally Pally once again.
“I do (understand her decision) but I have understood it before, and I don’t know if I will always understand it,” he told Sky Sports.
“I respect it. People are allowed to have their opinions.
“I do respect it. I understand why she is going to the Lakeside. I would be interested to find out how she sees her own darts career unfolding over the years to come
“She is phenomenally talented. She has been the standout player in the Women’s Series for a couple of years now and I really would relish the opportunity for her to test herself at Alexandra Palace.
“Maybe that is part of her plan longer-term. You would have to ask her that.
“I wish her all the success at Lakeside – I hope she goes there and puts her best game forward, but it would be nice to see her at Ally Pally one day.”
Porter admits it is unlikely Greaves will compete at both Lakeside and Alexandra Palace in the near future due to a “rigid policy”, adding that it will continue to be her decision to make come December each year.
“There is a lot of policy in place about players only playing in one World Championship and if an exception were to be made, that would disappoint a lot of people who have previously been denied that opportunity,” he added.
“That has been a rigid policy from both sides. I think ultimately players will need to choose.”
Greaves has openly spoken about her dislike of having to play against men, something she will do when she heads to Wolverhampton to take part in the Grand Slam of Darts from November 9, live on Sky Sports.
Greaves defeated Ricardo Pietreczko but lost narrowly to Nathan Aspinall and Damon Heta at last year’s Grand Slam and, after her latest success on the Women’s Series circuit, said: “People know I’m not keen on playing the lads on telly but it’s a good opportunity for me.
“I had a decent year there last year so hopefully I can get comfortable on the stage. It’s difficult for me to play but I look forward to it. I’ll practise well for it and see how it goes.”
How can you watch?
The Grand Slam of Darts is live every day on Sky Sports from November 9-17 as Luke Humphries looks to defend his title, with Beau Greaves and Noa-Lynn van Leuven also taking part.
Attention then turns to the 2025 PDC World Darts Championshipbeginning on December 15, as the darts calendar continues to provide excitement throughout the year – and you can enjoy the very best here live on Sky Sports.
