NOA-LYNN van Leuven is gearing up to play in her first PDC World Darts Championship.
The Dutch star, 28, is set to make history at the Alexandra Palace showpiece when she becomes the first trans woman to compete there.
Noa-Lynn van Leuven shows off her darts monkey tattoo[/caption]
Van Leuven is the first trans darts star to appear at Ally Pally[/caption]
The Duchess will face off against Kevin Doets on December 17, with the winner facing off against former world champ Michael Smith.
In the past, there’s been some controversy about her involvement in the women’s game with Deta Hedman forfeiting her Denmark Open quarter-final against Van Leuven because she struggled with the idea.
However, she has the full support of world No1 Luke Humphries – the current world darts champion.
“I don’t get too involved in the politics – it’s not up to me to say whether it is right or wrong,” he said.
“Whatever opinion I have, it wouldn’t matter. I just look at her as a darts player.
“She is in the competition on merit, she has not broken any rules, she is doing what she is allowed to do. It’s a hard one, because there are so many different opinions that get thrown around.
“It would be nice if people let her get on with it and play. But I wish her all the best – hopefully she gets a win and it’s good for her.”
When Van Leuven does step on to the oche, she will give fans a glimpse of her heavily-tattooed throwing arm.
SunSport takes a look at her body ink and explains what the various pieces mean.
What she’s said about them
Van Leuven wears her art on her sleeve.
She boasts several tattoos on her arm, including her first ink – a feather.
Alongside that is a very bold monkey, holding a dart and wearing a rainbow cape.
She showed it off on Instagram in April 2023, writing for the caption: “New Tattoo!! This monkey is soo cute! I am soo happy with this one.”
Van Leuven explained what it means, as well as talking about her first ink work to Outsports back in March.
“I have a tattoo of a feather in subtle trans colors, and on my throwing arm, there’s my dart monkey wearing a rainbow cape,” she said.
“The feather was my first tattoo — it’s a symbol of freedom that says I can be whoever I want to be.
“There’s also a semi-colon in there, which shows I could have chosen to end my sentence, but my story wasn’t over yet.
“And the other one shows my love for monkeys and also my passion for darts. Whenever I play darts, he’s proudly playing as well.”
Nuts about monkeys
It’s Van Leuven’s arms that are mostly decorated.
She tends to go for the more cutesy work, with a tattoo artist called Anna Molly at the Moshi Moshi studio in her homeland.
Next to her darts monkey, she has the face of a cat with a pink bow around its neck.
However, she hasn’t showed that off on social media.
But back in April, she continued with the monkey theme when she added a new tattoo to her collection.
Alongside a snap of the tattoo, she wrote: “Today @am.tattoos (give her a follow if you havent already) continued on my monkey family 
this time she did chef monkey! Cant wait to continue on the arm!
World Darts Championship – top stories
READ MORE on all the build-up to the Ally Pally extravaganza…
All the info:
- All the action as it happens in our LIVE BLOG
- Everything you need to know about the Ally Pally extravaganza
- How much prize money can be won?
- What is the format for the tournament?
- Are tickets still available and how much do they cost?
- When is Littler playing?
- Why isn’t Russ Bray refereeing?
- Who are the Sky Sports presenters and pundits?
News, features and interviews:
- Littler reveals tournament game plan
- Michael Smith reveals retirement plans
- Darts WAGs – from former walk-on girl to childhood sweetheart
- Emma Paton reveals rise as Queen of Darts
- ‘There’s no bigger cheater’ – MVG hits out at former world champ
- Luke Humphries’ stunning FOUR STONE weight loss
- Mardle to take step back after tragic death of wife Donna
“Isn’t it cute? (But also dangerous ninja chef monkey!)”
Back in March, Van Leuven also showed off her feather tattoo to her followers on Instagram to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility.
Should Van Leuven have a good run at the worlds, maybe she’ll mark her moment with some new ink? A monkey sitting on top of Ally Pally? You heard it here first.
