FALLON SHERROCK is the hottest name in women’s sport right now — and yet she grew up hating it!
The Queen of the Palace returns to Ally Pally this week for the first time since watching the 2020 world final between Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen.
Proud memories will flood back of that famous run to the third round of the PDC World Darts Championship two years ago where she historically beat two men — Ted Evetts and Mensur Suljovic.
Like Elvis, Elton or Madonna, the 27-year-old has a uniqueness whereby you only have to mention her first name and most people will know exactly who you mean.
Yet it was not always that way with Sherrock saying: “I remember at school saying to my mum, ‘Why don’t I have a normal name?’.
“She was like, ‘Well, I like your name’. I thought, ‘No one can say it, no one can spell it’.
“But now I love it — because it stands out. I have never met another Fallon.
“Whenever someone says Fallon now, they then say, ‘That’s the darts player’. And that’s really cool.”
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Having qualified through the Women’s Series, Sherrock returns to the spotlight on Sunday when she faces Steve Beaton, 57 — the 1996 Lakeside world darts champion — in the first round.
The pre-match meal will be predictable — butterfly chicken from Nando’s — but she intends to travel up beforehand to sample the sounds and smells of Ally Pally.
The former hairdresser said: “Driving up that hill, I’ll be filled with emotion, I’ll be excited.
“I’m hoping to go the day or two before. If I can get in the crowd, I will soak up the atmosphere beforehand, watch a few games.
“I need to get hit by the emotions and then come down from it.
“That way, I won’t be so shocked. I don’t want to walk into that door and then be hit by everything and be expected to play.”
Sherrock proved by reaching the Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finals and hitting a women’s world record 101.55 TV average in the group stage that she is no one-hit wonder.
She is hoping to kick-start her career after the pandemic and provide a better life for her seven-year-old son Rory, who has autism.
Practice sessions with her boyfriend Cameron Menzies, who will compete in the inaugural WDF World Darts Championship, have sharpened her game considerably.
She said: “Cameron proper pushes me. He will be like, ‘Go practice, go practice’, even when I am tired.
“He will even ring me, ‘Have you had a practice today?’.
“We do help each other, we need each other in that aspect. He is so supportive. It is quite nice to have someone who is willing to help.
“He helps me practise and Rory absolutely adores him.
“When the blokes are hitting against me, I don’t feel nervous because I am used to it. I know what to expect, I know what to do to put the pressure on.”
Should Sherrock win the first match, she would face Belgian Kim Huybrechts in the second round and then it could be the defending world champion Gerwyn Price after Christmas.
Sherrock might be a strong prospect for a Premier League place but she wants to obtain a Tour Card via Q School in early January and become a regular name on the oche.
She said: “I need to push on now and get one. Purely because I will be able to play these players more often.
“Then I can qualify for the TV stuff, which I seem to excel at. I do want to be a world champion at some point.
“I don’t want to go through all my career and not be a world champion — whether that is overall or in the women’s field.
“I want to be one of those that people remember. I want to be one of the best.
“When it comes down to it, when I am old and done, I want people to say, ‘Do you remember Fallon . . . ?’.”
Did you miss our previous article...
https://thecelebreport.com/royalty/im-proud-to-support-jabs-army-you-give-us-hope-for-brighter-days-ahead-says-camilla
