Fallon Sherrock’s health battle as she bids to set up Luke Littler Ally Pally showdown

Fallon Sherrock is gunning to face Luke Littler in the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship – at the Alexandra Palace in London.

Fallon Sherrock – the darts trailblazer famously dubbed the ‘Queen of the Palace’ – has her sights set on a potential second-round clash with Luke Littler at the current PDC World Darts Championship. However, she revealed she has been through health troubles recently.

First, Sherrock must overcome Ryan Meikle in the first round on Tuesday night. The winner is then set to lock horns with ‘The Nuke’ in a high-profile Saturday night showdown.

Sherrock, who created a buzz by becoming the first woman to defeat a male competitor at this competition – five years ago now – is focusing solely on world-ranked No.62 Meikle. That said, she has praised Littler for handling that rise to fame since last year’s World Championship, where he rocketed to attention by reaching the final.

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The pioneer of women’s darts discussed the double-edged sword of celebrity, explaining: “It’s like a big pressure kind of thing,” as she elaborated further, “You don’t want to put a foot out of line. You don’t want to do anything wrong.”

Sherrock then underscored how quickly things can escalate in the public eye, continuing: “As soon as something happens, it is so blown up – you could literally write a tweet or comment on something and next thing you know it’s in the papers. It’s everywhere on social media.”

Detailing the fine balance required when faced with the limelight, Sherrock believes that Littler is navigating his new-found status: “It’s like a fine line with the pressure you are under to be a role model as well, and I think he is doing really well. He is playing to his ability, he is not doing anything bad.”

Sherrock, now aged 30, has expressed her frustration over not securing another World Championship match win since her landmark victories in 2019, saying: “It gets to you because I’ve played well each time. I have got the sets, but I haven’t got over that line.”

She also noted the increased challenge from opponents: “I feel like the players that I have played have upped it towards the end of the games as well. I have always been in a fight.”

As she looks forward to this year with less pressure and media attention, Sherrock revealed her recent health struggles: “This year I feel like there is hardly any pressure on me at all – there are other players in the field who have got the media attention and stuff. So that means I can go under the radar.

“I have been poorly. I haven’t publicised it as such, only a few people close to me actually know about it, but I’m there on the mend now and hopefully getting my confidence back.”