Beau Greaves has become the first woman to win a match on the European Tour after defeating Daryl Gurney 6-4 at the Czech Open in Prague. The 22-year-old achieved the historic victory on Saturday, marking a significant moment in the 15-year history of the European Tour.
Greaves, who was narrowly defeated by Rob Cross in her European Tour debut in Hungary the previous week, faced a tough challenge against Gurney, who had beaten her in a deciding set at the PDC World Championship in December. Gurney took an early 3-1 lead in their Prague encounter.
However, Greaves mounted a strong comeback, winning three consecutive legs with finishes of 14, 13, and 11 darts to move ahead 4-3. Although Gurney managed to level the score at 4-4, Greaves ultimately secured the win.
"It feels amazing," Greaves said after the match. "I was so nervous at the start, I don't know why. It took me so long to get settled, but luckily I did enough to win the game. It means loads to me, the crowd's fantastic. It's such a tight stage and you feel so much from the crowd. I'm really enjoying it and loving the experience."
Greaves is set to face world number two Luke Humphries in the second round. "I've played Luke on the big stage before so I know what to expect, he's world class so I'll have to play a lot better than I did tonight," she commented. "What more do you want than on a Euro Tour to play one of the best players in the world? I'll look forward to it and I'll be ready."
This latest achievement follows a series of notable accomplishments for Greaves. In April, she became the first woman to win a PDC ranking title by defeating Michael Smith. She also achieved the distinction of being the first woman to hit a nine-dart finish on the PDC ProTour in February during a match against Mensur Suljovic. Furthermore, Greaves won the Women's World Matchplay for the third time in July, defeating Fallon Sherrock.