The UK darts star - nicknamed ‘The Queen of the Palace’ - has been at the forefront of women’s darts in recent years, fighting to raise the profile of her profession and earn the recognition it deserves in a traditionally male-dominated sport.
In 2019, Sherrock became the first woman to beat a man at the PDC World Championships at Alexandra Palace, and in 2021, she again beat male opposition as she made it to the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts before being eliminated by world No.2 Peter Wright.
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Later this month she will again compete in the World Championships at ‘Ally Pally’, but before she focuses on that, she popped in to the CFA to meet City skipper Steph Houghton and Hayley Raso to do some publicity work for the event – and admitted she has a keen eye on the upcoming Manchester derby this weekend.
“Football’s definitely grown on me, especially watching the Euros on the TV,” said Sherrock.
“The Euros was huge, so seeing everyone’s reaction to the women winning as well, I just want to watch more of it because it was so entertaining.
“I think you see how the world sees women in sport now and it’s a massive thing. I never expected it to blow up like it did when I won a game (against a man) and then obviously saw how it was so huge when the Lionesses won the Euros.
“It’s other sports as well, the boxing for example, women are representing us in all genres. It’s been remarkable and am so proud to be one of those people flying the flag.
“It’s so exciting to be back on the biggest stage that there is when it comes to darts (at the World Championships in London).
“I can’t wait just to get there, get all the excitement back, get the adrenaline going and feel that atmosphere again. It gives you goosebumps just thinking about it.
“My target, because I got to the third round last time, is getting that far at least again - but this time I want to try and do better and I know I’m capable of doing that.
“I want to get to the fourth round and I’ve got more hunger this time around for it.”
With a crowd in excess of 40,000 guaranteed for Sunday’s FA WSL Manchester derby between City and United, big crowds are still something many players in the women’s game are adjusting to.
Sherrock is used to the high octane and noisy environments at darts tournaments – particularly Ally Pally – so what advice does the 2022 Women’s World Matchplay champion have for City players this weekend?
“I basically got thrown in at the deep end so had to learn as I went along,” she smiled.
“My advice would be just don’t get too carried away, keep your feet on the ground and when there’s thousands of fans shouting, just focus on what you can do and turn them into cheers.
“Do it at specific times, don’t get too engrossed in the crowd.”
Sherrock took part in promotional activities at the CFA with Houghton and Raso, and admits she enjoyed the trip to Manchester immensely.
“It’s been a brilliant experience,” she said.
“Steph and Hayley are lovely people, I felt so welcome even though I couldn’t kick a football, really,
“They were so nice and the facility itself was just amazing I didn’t expect it to be this big. It was an amazing day.”
Sherrock also says she thinks City will just edge the game, adding: “Yes, City can do it but I’m terrible at scores! I’m not going to give a score, but I think City can get the win.”
And of her own sport and helping bring women’s darts into the spotlight, she says: “I think when I first started you always saw when the men didn’t want to play the women because they were scared a woman would beat them.
“Now though, in today’s darts it doesn’t matter if you’re a woman playing a man, but back in the day it did.
“My advice (for women in any male dominated sport) would be just carry on doing what you want to do, don’t let anyone put you down because you can achieve whatever you want to achieve.
“I’ve broken boundaries because I never gave up. No matter who puts you down, get back up again and keep on trying.”
