Ryan Joyce has made a heartbreaking admission about the fear of losing his PDC Tour Card after finally ending a miserable run of form that had left him questioning his future in professional darts.
The experienced English thrower opened up emotionally after securing a desperately needed victory at the Austrian Darts Open, revealing that the pressure of repeated defeats had become mentally draining and had seriously damaged his confidence. Although Joyce managed to stop the losing streak with a hard-fought win over Gabriel Clemens, he admitted he currently feels like he is battling simply to remain on the professional circuit.
For a player who has spent years earning respect as one of the PDC’s most reliable performers, the honesty of his comments showed just how difficult the last few months have been.
Joyce, nicknamed “Relentless,” has long been regarded as one of the most dangerous unseeded players in the sport. Calm under pressure and capable of producing brilliant checkouts at key moments, the 40-year-old has built a strong reputation through consistency and determination rather than flashy headlines.
Over the years, he has enjoyed memorable runs at major tournaments and has regularly challenged some of the biggest names in world darts. His smooth throwing action and clinical finishing have made him a respected figure among both players and fans.
But professional darts can quickly become brutal when confidence disappears.
The packed PDC schedule leaves little room for recovery during difficult spells, and when players start losing regularly, the pressure can rapidly become overwhelming. Rankings, prize money and Tour Card positions are constantly changing, meaning every defeat carries consequences.
That reality has clearly affected Joyce during what he described as one of the toughest periods of his career.
Heading into the Austrian Darts Open in Graz, the Englishman had suffered a string of disappointing results that left him struggling for belief. Early exits had become increasingly common, and concerns over his form were beginning to grow.
Joyce finally managed to stop the slide with a 6-3 victory against German star Gabriel Clemens. While it was far from his best performance statistically, the result itself mattered far more than the overall standard.
The world number 26 averaged just 87.70 during the match, but he produced moments of quality when it mattered most. The standout moment came with a brilliant 118 checkout on the bullseye to seal victory and finally end the barren run.
For a player desperate for confidence, that finish meant everything.
After the match, Joyce gave an unusually honest interview where he admitted every game currently feels filled with pressure because of his poor form.
“Every break of throw feels good, especially when you are really struggling for form,” Joyce said. “I have had a really bad run lately.”
The Englishman explained that the pressure surrounding the match against Clemens had been even greater because he had recently lost to the German in the opening round of a ProTour event.
“I lost to Gabriel recently in the first round of a ProTour event,” he revealed. “I wasn’t looking forward to this game.”
That comment perfectly captured the mental battle professional players often face. Once confidence starts dropping, even familiar opponents can suddenly feel intimidating. Defeats begin to linger in the mind, and players can enter matches already fearing another disappointment.
Joyce admitted the mental side of darts becomes incredibly difficult during poor runs because every missed double or bad leg starts to feel magnified.
“The pressure is on. It’s really tough,” he explained. “I have been in half-decent form for a long time, but when you hit a bad patch every game feels like massive pressure, whether you are in the Matchplay or not.”
The most emotional moment came when Joyce revealed the extent of his fears regarding his future on the tour.
“I feel like I am just fighting to keep my Tour Card at the moment. I am playing that badly. So that win is huge.”
For professional darts players, retaining a Tour Card is everything. It guarantees access to the main PDC circuit and provides opportunities to compete regularly for ranking money and qualification spots in major tournaments. Losing a Tour Card can dramatically alter a player’s career and force them into difficult qualifying events just to regain their place.
For someone like Joyce, who has established himself as a respected tour professional over many years, the thought of losing that status is clearly devastating.
The 40-year-old has experienced ups and downs throughout his career, but this latest slump appears to have hit him particularly hard because of how suddenly the results disappeared.
Earlier in his career, Joyce steadily climbed the rankings thanks to his consistency and composure under pressure. He became known as a player capable of upsetting elite opponents on major stages, often thriving when expectations were low.
Fans still remember his deep runs at televised tournaments where he repeatedly proved he belonged among the sport’s top professionals. His ability to remain calm in tense situations earned him the nickname “Relentless,” and at his best he was one of the most awkward opponents on the circuit.
But the modern PDC tour is stronger and more competitive than ever before.
The rise of younger stars, combined with the incredible overall standard across the sport, means even experienced players can quickly slide down the rankings during difficult periods. Small drops in confidence can lead to repeated early exits, which then create even more pressure.
Joyce admitted the losing streak had naturally made him think about the future.
The Englishman previously revealed he had briefly fallen out of love with darts during earlier struggles in his career, but he insists he is not ready to walk away from the sport voluntarily.
“I would never retire from darts voluntarily,” Joyce said. “I’d have to lose my Tour Card first.”
Even so, he acknowledged that long losing runs can create frightening thoughts about how close the end of a career may actually be.
“When you lose a lot of games in a row, you think the end might be closer than you expected.”
It was a brutally honest statement from a player clearly carrying the emotional weight of recent struggles.
Despite everything, Joyce remains determined to fight his way back into form. He pointed to previous difficult periods in his career where he eventually rediscovered confidence and turned things around.
“I’m going to keep trying right until the end, whenever I eventually lose my Tour Card, and hopefully that’s still a long way off,” he said. “Hopefully this is just a little slump.”
He added: “I’ve had slumps in form before and I’ve always come out the other side, so hopefully this will be the same.”
Those comments showed that despite his fears, Joyce still believes he can recover.
In darts, momentum can change very quickly. One strong performance or deep tournament run is often enough to completely transform confidence levels. Players who look lost one week can suddenly rediscover their rhythm and become dangerous again almost overnight.
Joyce will now hope his victory over Clemens becomes the moment that changes his season rather than simply a temporary escape from poor form.
For fans, his emotional interview offered a rare and honest look into the psychological pressures professional darts players face behind the scenes. While the sport is often associated with entertainment, big crowds and dramatic finishes, the reality for many players is constant stress over rankings, finances and career security.
Joyce’s admission about fearing for his Tour Card highlighted just how unforgiving professional darts can be.
Still, after finally ending his barren run, the experienced thrower will now hope brighter days are finally ahead.
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