Fallon Sherrock has announced that she’ll be stepping away from professional darts for the season. It’s not a retirement, but a break – and a necessary one, according to the Queen of the Palace herself.
The reason? Her health. Sherrock has been struggling with low energy and fatigue for months, and it’s affected her ability to train and perform. She’s spoken openly about how it’s become hard to even practice properly, never mind compete at the level expected of her. She’s already pulled out of multiple exhibition events and says she’s simply not able to commit to the circuit in her current state. So, she’s taking time out to focus on getting well – and hopes to return when she’s back to full strength.
In the short term, she still plans to try and qualify for the World Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts. So she’s not quite done for the year yet – but once those are out of the way, that’s it until at least 2026.
As a fan and a punter, I wish her well. Nobody wants to see someone burn out, and it’s good she’s recognised the need to press pause. But from a betting point of view, her absence will definitely shake things up.
Fallon’s Rise – And What She Brought to the Board
Sherrock has been a headline name in darts for the best part of five years. Her run at the 2020 World Championship – where she beat Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljović – didn’t just make history, it put her firmly in the public eye. Since then, she’s been a mainstay in women’s darts and a regular wildcard in PDC events.
She’s won the Women’s World Matchplay, reached the final of a televised PDC event, and become a symbol of how far the women’s game has come. Her success has drawn in sponsors, crowds, and TV interest – and made women’s darts a much more viable betting market in the process.
But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. She never secured a full PDC Tour Card, and the last year or so has seen her results dip. A combination of poor form and those energy-sapping health issues has left her struggling to maintain the levels that once made her such a live threat.
It’s the right time for her to take stock. But it’s also going to change the landscape.
Betting Without Fallon – What Changes?
With Sherrock stepping away, women’s darts markets are going to look a lot different. Most of the outright betting over the last couple of years has revolved around two names: Fallon Sherrock and Beau Greaves.
Greaves is the dominant force right now. She’s young, consistent, and already racking up titles. When she’s in form, she’s odds-on against anyone – but the one player who always carried a real threat against her was Fallon. With that threat gone, Greaves is going to be even shorter in every tournament. For casual punters, the value in backing her outright is going to disappear.
Where things get more interesting is in the chasing pack. Without Sherrock in the draw, there’s a gap to be filled – and that’s where the opportunity lies. Players like Lisa Ashton, Mikuru Suzuki, Aileen de Graaf and Rhian O’Sullivan could all benefit from a slightly more open field. Betting without markets might be the way forward here.
Sherrock wasn’t just a star attraction – she regularly made finals and semis. Take her out of the bracket and you suddenly get players reaching stages they hadn’t before. For punters, that means watching for who steps up. Odds that were 16/1 or 20/1 a few months ago might shorten quickly if someone makes a couple of deep runs. Getting in early could pay off.
In match betting too, things shift. Sherrock was always a wildcard – inconsistent, but dangerous. Without her in the draw, the bracket becomes more predictable – but it also removes one of the few women who could regularly beat Greaves. Expect more lopsided odds at the top, but also more volatility in the middle rounds as new players find themselves in unfamiliar territory.
Who Might Step Up?
With Fallon out, the women’s game isn’t short on talent – but it’s lacking in established challengers to Greaves. Lisa Ashton is the obvious candidate. She’s been around the block, has won everything going at women’s level, and has beaten big names before. The question is whether she still has enough consistency to put a run together.
Mikuru Suzuki is another name to watch. She’s a former Women’s World Champion and always looks dangerous when she finds rhythm. Aileen de Graaf has been there or thereabouts for years, and Rhian O’Sullivan has been steadily improving.
There are also a few younger players who could seize the opportunity with Fallon out of the picture. The women’s game is growing fast, and someone we haven’t paid much attention to yet might suddenly pop up in a final and catch the bookies cold.
That’s where the edge is going to be – spotting the next breakout player before everyone else does.
The Bigger Picture
Fallon Sherrock taking a break doesn’t just affect the betting markets – it affects the sport as a whole. Like her or not, she’s been the face of women’s darts. Her matches drew bigger audiences than anyone else’s. She brought attention, media coverage, and an extra layer of intensity to the tournaments she played in.
Her absence might take some of that buzz away – especially in the big televised events. From a punter’s point of view, that can have subtle effects too. Lower attention means less liquidity in the markets, which can make prices swing more wildly, or value harder to spot.
But it also means less hype – and sometimes, less hype is where the smart money goes. A less flashy field means the bookies won’t lean so hard on reputation. If you’re paying attention, you might find more favourable odds on players who are quietly improving.
Looking Ahead
🗣️”I feel like if I’m going to have a year out next year, I want to try and make a bang this year. I need to get myself well again”
🎤 @FSherrock opens up about getting herself well again and why she has been up and down
Listen in full now 🎥 👉🏻 https://t.co/1GxtsXypPg
— Online Darts (@OfficialOLDarts) May 27, 2025
Fallon says she’ll be back once she’s healthy. She’s still only 30, and she clearly wants to return when she’s able to compete properly. There’s no reason she can’t come back and shake things up again – and when she does, you can be sure the odds will shift accordingly.
Until then, the women’s game enters a bit of a holding pattern. Beau Greaves is still the player to beat. The challenge is figuring out who’s next in line – and where the value lies once the big-name spotlight moves aside.
Sherrock’s break might not be the biggest story of the year, but for those of us who follow the game closely – and bet on it regularly – it changes the calculus. And that’s always worth paying attention to.
(Main image: Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
