Fallon Sherrock has been knocked out of the PDC World Darts Championship in the third round, against 22nd seed Chris Dobey. She grabbed international attention by becoming the first woman to win a game in the tournament.
Image: Getty Images/J. Mansfield
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The shock success story of the opening rounds of the World Darts Championship came to an end in the third round on Friday at the Alexandra Palace in London.
The world No. 4 in the women's game, Fallon Sherrock, qualified for the men's championship, and then proceeded to beat Ted Evetts in the opening round and men's world No. 11 Mensur Sulijovic in the second round.
But against 22nd seed and fellow English national Chris Dobey, Sherrock fell short. Dobey won the match by 4 sets to 2, ultimately winning the decisive last two sets quite comfortably after an evenly matched start to the game. Sherrock's impressive accuracy throwing doubles at the end of legs kept her in contention for most of the game despite Dobey outscoring her consistently. But the world No. 24 really hit his stride late in the match.
"This girl can play, and I needed to be at my best," Dobey told UK broadcaster Sky Sports after the game, adding that he could scarcely believe Sherrock was holding her own in the first four legs even though he was outscoring her consistently. "She's been absolutely outstanding, also today."
Dobey's relentless scoring put Sherrock on the back foot, and once he started closing legs reliably, he pulled clearImage: picture-alliance/empics/T. Derry
The pair posed together after the game, with Dobey encouraging the crowd to show some appreciation for the sensation of the opening rounds at the "Ally Pally." When it was Sherrock's turn to answer questions on stage, she couldn't hear the interviewer over the notoriously rowdy darts crowd.
"I tell you what: I've actually enjoyed myself so much. And honestly, Chris just played so well. Unfortunately it wasn't my result, but I can't take anything away from him, he played so well," Sherrock said. "Thank you to everyone, it's been amazing. Hopefully I can experience it again, because it's been unbelievable."
Darts is one of the comparatively few sports — also including snooker, motor sports, golf and equestrian events — that have no explicit restrictions on gender, with women welcome to compete against men. However, in the majority of these sports, men have continued to dominate to such an extent that separate women's competitions have been established to give female players a chance to shine.
Sherrock became the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship, the biggest competition of the year. Two of her key rivals in the women's game, Lisa Ashton and Anastasia Dobromyslova, made the cut last year, but both were eliminated in the first round.
Sherrock received a hero's welcome on entry at the Alexandra Palace on FridayImage: Getty Images/J. Mansfield
Sherrock also said she hoped to make the cut for next year's PDC World Championship, although first she would turn her attention to the 2020 BDO Women's World Championship in London in January. She was already one of the favorites for that crown, going into the competition as fourth seed, even before her December heroics.
Successful athletes who are also mothers
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Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce
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Allyson Felix
Allyson Felix won a record 12th world title and her first since becoming a mother last November, as part of the US team that took the 4x400 meters mixed relay in Doha. After she became pregnant, the six-time Olympic champion got into a dispute with her then-sponsor Nike, which had offered her a 70-percent pay cut as she was forced to take a break from the sport. Felix now has a different sponsor.
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Serena Williams
According to her own account, the birth by C-section of daughter Alexis Olympia on September 1, 2017, almost cost the then 36-year-old her life. Since returning to the tennis court following a 13-month break, Williams has reached four Grand Slam finals but hasn’t won any of them.
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Margaret Court
Margaret Court had a much easier time of it. The 24-time Grand Slam winner, whose record Serena Williams continues to chase, had three children during her playing career, only retiring from the game after she'd become pregnant four a fourth time.
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Marit Björgen
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Therese Alshammar
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Darya Domracheva
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Kristin Armstrong
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Isabell Werth
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Heike Drechsler
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Kim Clijsters
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