Beau Greaves has admitted she’s ‘not keen’ on the prospect of facing Luke Littler at next month’s Grand Slam of Darts as the reigning women’s world champion remains reluctant to face male players on TV.
Greaves has quickly emerged as one of the brightest female darts players of all time at the tender age of 20.
She reached the semi-finals of the Women’s World Championships on her debut four years ago and has won the event in back-to-back years.
Greaves continued her dominance on the women’s tour at the weekend when she picked up her eighth Women’s Series title of the year.
Despite her success, Greaves has opted against playing in the PDC World Championships for a third consecutive year to defend her WDF world title.
Beau Greaves has said she doesn’t like competing against male players
PA
The Doncaster darts star has admitted previously that she doesn’t enjoy playing against male players, who she feels have an advantage over female players.
But Greaves will be back in action against the best men’s players in the game next month after qualifying for the Grand Slam of Darts.
The Women’s World Matchplay winner insists she will give it her all, but doesn’t appear confident about her prospects.
She 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.”
I just don’t feel as if I can win it. People say I’m stubborn, people say whatever they want, but I know how good I can be and what I’m like most of the time.
“It’s about that consistency and most of the ladies don’t have the consistency to compete with the men.
“I’m there, I’ve qualified for it so I’ll play it. It’s not something I look forward to and it’s not something I necessarily want to play in but the opportunity is there. I’ll give it my best crack.
“I’ll always try my best and give it 100 per cent on stage but maybe I should learn from that by being more positive about playing in it, but it’s just not what I like playing in.”
Beau Greaves qualified by winning the Women’s World Matchplay in July
GETTY
Greaves played in the Grand Slam of Darts last year, where she lost close matches to Nathan Aspinall and Damon Heta.
But her sole victory came against German darts ace Ricardo Pietreczko, who didn’t take kindly to being booed during the match.
The Wolverhampton crowd were on Greaves’ side throughout the match with Pietreczko facing boos each time he stepped up to the oche.
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Beau Greaves hasn’t played in the PDC World Darts Championship since 2022
PA
Pietreczko even retaliated at one stage, cupping his years in the direction of the crowd after hitting a 180.
Sky Sports commentator Stuart Pike felt Pietreczko “snapped” at the abuse he was facing in the match.
But Greaves held her nerves to pull off an impressive 5-1 victory for her first-ever win at the Grand Slam of Darts.