Three-time darts world champion Michael van Gerwen this week confirmed what many suspected: he does not enjoy watching his own sport.
“I never did in my life,” van Gerwen told Winmau. “I don’t even like watching darts.”
The Dutchman, who has dropped to world No 7 following the Matchplay, says he will occasionally check live scores if a friend such as Vincent van der Voort is competing, or if Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are meeting in a final. But sitting down to watch darts on television is not something he does.
“I’d rather play than watch,” van Gerwen said. “Simple as that. I always say the same, so it would be really weird to change my opinion.”
He is far from alone. Some of the biggest names in tennis, football, snooker and boxing have expressed similar feelings about the sports that built their careers.
Andre Agassi
The eight-time Grand Slam champion was perhaps the most direct of all, writing in his autobiography that he hates tennis.
“I play tennis for a living even though I hate tennis,” Agassi wrote. “I hate it with a dark and secret passion and always have.”
Agassi attributed the feeling in part to being forced into the sport by his father, as well as the demands of being on tour for more than 30 weeks a year.
Serena Williams
Williams offered a less absolute but still striking verdict in an interview with TennisNow in 2012: “I don’t love tennis today, but I’m here, and I can’t live without it.”
The winner of seven Australian Open titles, seven Wimbledon titles, six US Opens and three French Opens went further when describing her relationship with physical activity in general.
“It’s not that I’ve fallen out of love, I’ve actually never liked sports, and I never understood how I became an athlete,” Williams said. “I don’t like working out, I don’t like anything that has to do with working physically.”
Nick Kyrgios
Kyrgios, who reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2022 before losing to Novak Djokovic, has spoken openly about preferring basketball to tennis. In 2015 he said: “I don’t really like the sport of tennis that much. I don’t love it.”
The Australian, who is planning retirement at 31, said his parents pushed him toward tennis when he was 14, at a point when basketball held his real affection.
“I always say I don’t love the sport,” he said. “But I just love basketball, I love the sport. I always have. I try when I’m on the road with tennis not to watch too many basketball videos and stuff like that, to keep me focused, but it’s tough.”
Ben White
Arsenal defender Ben White has built a reputation as a player who engages with football strictly on his own terms. He fell out with England assistant manager Steve Holland in November 2022 in a dispute reportedly linked to his attitude toward the game, and he says he watches matches only for analytical purposes.
“I didn’t ever watch football when I was younger. I still don’t now,” White told The Overlap. “I just loved the game. I was always playing it, never watching.”
Former Tottenham full back Benoit Assou-Ekotto made a similar case. “I don’t watch football,” he told Sky Sports. “I don’t talk about football away from the game either. My interests are my friends and music, especially hip-hop.” Assou-Ekotto played more than 200 times for Spurs.
Mark Williams
The Welsh snooker player, currently ranked world No 8 and a finalist at the 2025 World Championship, was blunt about his feelings in 2019. Speaking after a first-round UK Snooker Championship win over Fraser Patrick, Williams said he was enjoying himself far more on the golf course.
“Hate it,” he said of snooker. “I’m just enjoying playing golf more.”
Williams had raised the prospect of retirement in 2017, then went on to win a third world title the following year.
Tyson Fury
Fury’s feelings about boxing are more complicated than simple dislike. The heavyweight told DAZN in 2024 that he has tried to walk away from the sport multiple times, most recently after defeating Dillian Whyte in 2022, but has been unable to stay away.
“Boxing is an addiction,” Fury said. “It abuses my body, my mind, my soul. But I feel like it takes me to ecstasy. The rush is unbelievable. It gives me the biggest highs ever, but it also gives me the lowest lows. Boxing is more addictive than any drug ever.”
Fury is set to face Anthony Joshua in an all-British bout later this year, having defeated Mariusz Wach most recently. Whether that fight brings a final retirement remains an open question.
