BEAU GREAVES claims she received homophobic online hate when she first posted a photo of her female partner on social media.
The Yorkshire star went public with her relationship with Shan Reeves following her first Pro Tour victory on April 27.
The Doncaster thrower beat 8-7 in the final in Milton Keynes to become the first woman to win one of the ranking events in the PDC’s Players Championship series.
On her Instagram account, she published an image of the pair together in an embrace with a caption that said she was “feeling so lucky at the moment with this one by my side”.
Since then she has posted numerous photos of the pair together, particularly when she lifted the Betfred Women’s World Matchplay in Blackpool in July for the third occasion.
The pair, who live together, met almost a decade ago playing England Youth tournaments and have been together for four years.
The majority of the responses on her Instagram account have been overwhelmingly positive and congratulatory.
But in a recent interview with The Observer , the three-time women’s world champion said some people had been particularly hurtful with their comments.
Greaves, 22, said: “It’s been tough for me.
“I never really came out, as such. People who knew me, knew, but when we did post about it, there were quite a few vulgar comments from a lot of men.
“When I told my mum and dad, they just said, ‘And?’
“At the end of the day, she’s my biggest supporter. Why not embrace it for what it is, and not be bothered about what people say?”
Greaves, ranked 74th in the world with £70,000 against her name, is one of the most exciting young talents in the sport and is a trailblazer for women’s darts.
Like with Fallon Sherrock, she has shown that women are capable of regularly challenging male players.
Besides winning a match on the Alexandra Palace stage at the – she has lost on her two previous visits – her immediate goal this autumn is to break the world’s top 64.
Greaves, a former window cleaner, said: “If you asked the majority of the ladies now, ‘Do you want to go and play against men on Sky Sports?’, they would say no.
“Sometimes it feels a little bit like an exhibition. I’ve had to stop thinking like that and actually try and think: ‘No, I am good enough.’
“I don’t really want to look at myself as a woman to go and win on Ally Pally.
“I just want to do it for my ranking and do really well. I want to do it just because I’m part of the professional circuit.”
