Studd says Sherrock 'shattered the glass ceiling' when she beat Ted Evetts in World Championship
Friday 20 December 2019 17:13, UK
Sky Sports commentator Rod Studd feels the PDC should seize the moment after Fallon Sherrock's stunning success at Alexandra Palace and invest in the women's game.
At the age of just 25, Sherrock became the first woman to beat a man at the PDC World Darts Championship on Tuesday evening.
She defeated Ted Evetts in a nail-biting five sets, cheered on by crowds of supporters as she "shattered the glass ceiling".
Studd reflected on Sherrock's stunning success by posting this message on Twitter: "I've said it before and I'll say it again. The next big growth area for darts is women's darts.
"From next year, let's have 4 women in the WC. From 2021, let's have a mini PDC women's tour with 4 events aiming for 8. There's £14m in prize money in the PDC. Let's use some of that."
And with Sherrock in action again on Saturday evening in a second-round contest against Mensur Suljovic, Studd reiterated his stance insisting that the time is now, even before Sherrock's seismic moment.
"I've felt really strongly about it for several years. The next big growth area in darts is going to be women. It is women's darts, and it will be women's darts," Studd told The Darts Show podcast.
The more women that play darts the better they get. The more women they play competitively the better they get. It's not just Fallon Sherrock or Mikuru Suzuki. There's Lisa Ashton, Lorraine Winstanley, Anastasia Dobromyslova-Martin and Aileen de Graaf.
"The sport needs to grab that opportunity and really run with it. I think there should now be four women playing in the World Championship.
"Now is the time to invest in the women's game. Let's start slowly and have a mini-tour with four women's events with the elite eight players - two of 16 - and then take the World Championship because the BDO World Championship is not providing enough prize money.
"The World Championship should be a proper stage for proper money. Have a 16-woman World Championship and I reckon you could have four tournaments, and if you have £100,000 prize money for one and £100,000 for another and £100,000 another and then £200,000 for another, that's £500,000.
"Where do you get it from? Take it out of the prize money. You've got £14m being used for prize money at the moment. Call it £13.5m for the men and £500,000 for the women.
"With darts, we need to take £500,000 as a start and give it to a new women's tour. Is it too much to ask to invest in the women's game? This is the time. If not now, then when?"
Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts. The action is on Sky Sports Darts with live coverage from Alexandra Palace until the final on New Year's Day.
