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The South African
2 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
The RISE of South Africa's Jordy Smith to No 1 in the world in 2025
When South Africa's Jordy Smith paddles out at Lower Trestles in California next week, he will be wearing the WSL no. 1 rank yellow jersey. With two event wins in 2025 – the only time he's achieved the feat in a single season – the 37-year old is surfing the best he's ever done. And he even snagged himself a brand-new SUV for winning the 'Aussie Treble' last month. In fact, the last time he wore the coveted no. 1 yellow jersey was way back in 2017. The Durban-born surfer currently sits on 36 130 Championship Tour points. With the next best competitor, Brazil's Italo Ferreira, on 31 290. South Africa's Jordy Smith is a two-time WSL tour Runner-Up, never a world champion. Is this the year the big bru converts? All you need to know about Jordy's record-breaking run so far in 2025. Video: WSL on YouTube Nevertheless, if you haven't been following South Africa's Jordy Smith in 2025, don't worry, we'll catch you up. The WSL crafted a brilliant recap of his record-breaking season so far, that's taken him to the yellow jersey (watch above) in 2025. Included are his best waves surfed in key heats. And his all-important victories in Punta Roca, El Salvador, and Margaret River, Western Australia, of course. The event window for the Trestles Pro next week, on Monday 9 June 2025. Not only has South Africa's Jordy Smith won at this high-performance wave before, but he even relocated to San Clemente for a period of time. As such, he considers it a home away from home and will hope to bank another good haul of points in yellow. You can watch all the action live on the WSL YouTube channel. It's been eight years since South Africa'a Jordy Smith donned the yellow jersey. Can he convert his no. 1 position into a world title in 2025? Image: WSL on Facebook From California, the tour goes to Brazil in late June, before the circus pulls into J-Bay from 11-20 July 2025. A two-time winner, the world-class right-hand point-break is unarguably Smith's favourite event (and many other competitors'). At the end the Tahiti Pro in August, the top five competitors on the world rankings will battle it out for a world title in man-on-man heats at the WSL Finals in Fiji. Be sure to diarise the last five events of the 2025 season to keep track of South Africa's Jordy Smith as he strives for his first world title: June 9-17 – Trestles Pro (USA) June 21-29 – Vivo Rio Pro (Brazil) July 11-20 – J-Bay Open (SA) August 7-16 – Tahiti Pro (Tahiti) August 27-September 4 – WSL Finals Fiji (Fiji) Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Arab News
14-02-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Morocco's history-making surfer Ramzi Boukhiam believes best is yet to come
ABU DHABI: Last summer at the Paris Olympics, Moroccan surfer Ramzi Boukhiam attacked one monster wave after another at Tahiti's iconic Teahupo'o, going toe-to-toe with Brazilian Joao Chianca in one of the most memorable heats of the Games. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport A post shared by Reem Abulleil (@reemabulleil) Winning his first CT event is high up on Boukhiam's bucket list for 2025, and he's also hoping to finish the year in the top five. 'I know I can do it. It's really hard, but I know I can do it. So, I'm going to go for it,' said Boukhiam, whose best CT finish so far was clinching third at the Tahiti Pro last year after defeating surfing great Kelly Slater in the quarter-finals. At 31, Boukhiam believes his best days are still ahead of him. He feels he's finally coming into his own competing against the world's best and isn't putting any limits on his ambitions. Could a third Olympics appearance be in the cards for him at LA 2028? 'If my body lets me, for sure, I'm thinking about it,' he said. 'I feel fresh, honestly. I feel the strongest I've ever been. My surfing is there. I feel like I'm almost still improving a little bit, which is not usual. At 31, normally you start going down. But I feel like I'm getting better and stronger. So, Alhamdulillah, yeah. Why not? Why not? 'I'm going year by year and event by event. I just want to do good in the CT. And if I'm ready for the Olympics, I'll be ready, inshallah.' Boukhiam was born in Agadir to a Moroccan father and Dutch mother. He lost his father at the age of 11 and later moved with his mother and brother to Biarritz, France — the epicenter of European surfing. After a strong junior career and a decade toiling on the Qualifying Series, Boukhiam, who is back based in Agadir, is finally where he belongs, competing against the best surfers on the planet. Asked what his advice would be for Arab surfers looking to follow in his footsteps, Boukhiam said: 'I know it's cliche, but keep going, because that's exactly what I did. I had a good junior career, and then I had ups and downs for more than eight, nine, 10 years on the Challengers and all that stuff, and then finally qualified at 29,' he said. 'So I kept pushing with a lot of injuries, a lot of stuff. I know it's cliche, but keep pushing, believe, and keep improving. 'Forget about what everyone is doing. Do you, and do the best of you, and try to be the best of you every day, and keep going, and try to do the maximum so you have no regrets. I think that's the mindset you need to have.'
