Nathan Aspinall broke down in tears after contracting condition ‘no player ever wants’

Nathan Aspinall has revealed that he was once reduced to tears due to a condition known in darts as ‘dartitis’. The 33-year-old was first affected during his 2023 Premier League Darts campaign, when he blew a 4-0 lead against Peter Wright.

 

Dartitis is a psychological condition that affects a player’s ability to throw a dart at the right time. Similar issues are experienced by players in golf and tennis.

 

Not many players recover from dartitis but Aspinall has developed coping mechanisms. He was left in tears during his 6-5 defeat against Wright last year and has opened up on his anger after the match.

 

“All of a sudden out of nowhere I couldn’t throw my effing dart. I just couldn’t let it go. It ended up getting worse and worse and worse to the point where I was in tears,” Aspinall told Sky Sports’ Game of Throws documentary.

 

“Because I knew what it was. The dreaded D-word that no darts player ever wants to hear or get. Something called dartitis.

 

“It’s horrific, no one ever wants to get it. Not many people come back from it. It’s basically the fear of missing. There’s somewhere deep in the back of your head saying, ‘You’re going to miss this’ so you stop.

“I lost the game 6-5, I went upstairs after the game and I was in the toilet and I was absolutely smashing ten lumps of s*** out of the hand dryer. I lost my head.”

 

Aspinall went on to win World Matchplay a couple of months after the match against Wright, sealing the second major title of his career. He still suffers from the condition but saw a sports psychologist to develop coping mechanisms.