Latest news with #visitmelbourne
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Aussie Nichols into Bells Beach title decider
Isabella Nichols will get a second chance this month to go for a World Surf League title after taking down two-time champion Tyler Wright in the Rip Curl Pro semi-finals at Bells Beach. The 27-year-old Queenslander is into back-to-back finals after reaching the title showdown at the last tour stop in El Salvador, when she made the agonising choice to miss her twin sister's wedding to go for glory. Nichols suffered a narrow defeat against Hawaiian Gabriela Bryan in El Salvador but gets another crack, facing Brazilian Luana Silva in the final which will be held at the Victorian coastal break on Sunday afternoon. Nichols and Wright were the last surfers into the water before the event went on a three-hour hold with organisers expecting improved conditions with the tide change. Earlier on Sunday, West Australian Jack Robinson joined wildcard Morgan Cibilic in the men's semi-finals, outclassing American Jake Marshall 15.94-14.57. all out attack from Robbo ⚔️and a solid 8.17 for the effort📺 #RipCurlProBellsBeach is LIVE@ripcurl @originalbonsoy @visitmelbourne — World Surf League (@wsl) April 26, 2025 Robinson faces another American Griffin Colapinto while Newcastle surfer Cibilic, who was ranked world No.5 in 2021 before falling of the Championship Tour, takes on Japan's Kanoa Igarashi in the other semi-final. Cibilic and Igarashi both won their quarter-finals late on Saturday. With the sets slowing down, Nichols had to wait for her chance against Wright, who rang the famous bell in 2022 and 2023. She then put together back-to-back scores for a comprehensive 10.67-2.50 win to reach her first Bells decider. Nichols' only previous CT title win came at the Margaret River Pro in 2022. "It's making me emotional thinking about it," Nichols said after her victory. "I got so close to owning a bell a couple of years ago and regardless of if it's the grande or the small size, I'm going to have a bell at home now so I'm speechless." In the other semi-final, Silva won a thriller against Costa Rica's Brisa Hennessy to reach her first ever CT final, edging her rival 12.67 to 12.07.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Aussies Wright and Nichols into semis at Bells Beach
Two-time world champion Tyler Wright will take on resurgent Isabella Nichols in an all-Australian women's semi-final in the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. Wright edged past Bettylou Sakura Johnson in the last of four women's quarter-finals on Saturday. The Hawaiian young gun had the highest-scoring single wave of the heat, a 7.73-pointer, but 31-year-old Wright advanced 14.00-13.20. Sakura Johnson won a paddle battle midway through the contest, but it was the Australian who eventually emerged triumphant, grabbing the decisive wave when the Hawaiian had priority. "Honestly that stuff is just entertaining, it's so fun," said Wright, who leapt off the jetski to set up the paddle battle in an attempt to grab priority. "It's not fun to be on the losing side of it, but it's one of those ones where she rolled the dice and I rolled mine and that's what it came out to be. "I fell on one (wave) that was probably going to legitimately put me up. "It's really tricky out there ... and I'm so happy with my competitive mentality in that heat." Wright is the only one of the four women's semi-finalists to have previously rung the famous bell, having won the Rip Curl Pro in 2022 and 2023. After spending last year on the Challenger Tour, Nichols has returned to the big time with a vengeance. That's one way to secure your finals day ticket! 🎟️Isabella's headed to the Semifinals at the #RipCurlProBellsBeach.@ripcurl @originalbonsoy @visitmelbourne — World Surf League (@wsl) April 26, 2025 She made the final of the most recent event in El Salvador and is now just two wins away from what would be a maiden triumph at the iconic Victorian venue. "I've been coming here since I was 15," said 27-year-old Nichols after downing Hawaiian Gabriela Bryan 15.94-10.67. "I just love this place so much. "It's pretty hard to tell what a good wave is going to be out there. "Someone told me right before I was going down the stairs to trust your gut. "I let a bunch of waves go and it was 'oh man, that could have been a back-up score or something', but I just waited and waited and I managed to find two pretty beautiful waves." Nichols' recent run of good results have come on a trusty old board she took back out of the cupboard a couple of years ago. "It has just been something that I can trust," she said. "I know that as soon as the waves get over three feet that if I'm activated and on my back foot that I've got it, no matter what." Sally Fitzgibbons was just pipped by Costa Rican Brisa Hennessy in a high-scoring quarter-final, with the veteran Australian going down 15.40-15.17. Hennessy clinched the win with a brilliant late ride, which the judges rewarded with 9.40 points - the highest-scoring wave of the women's event to date. The men's quarter-finals were being surfed later on Saturday, with both titles to be decided on Sunday.
Ya Biladi
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Ya Biladi
Moroccan surfer Ramzi Boukhiam's Rip Curl Pro ends in agony with knee injury
Moroccan surfer Ramzi Boukhiam's run at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, Australia, came to a painful end after he sustained a serious knee injury while exiting the water following his heat. Boukhiam, who placed last in Heat 6, was walking across rocks back to shore when a wave struck him from behind, causing his left knee to twist. A video captured him crying out in pain, clutching his leg, and being helped from the water by fellow surfers. The 31-year-old was later taken off the beach in a medicab and seen limping on crutches into the event's medical suite. World No. 1 Italo Ferreira, who competed in the same heat, described the moment on the event broadcast: Injury update ? Ramzi has been injured exiting the water following his Opening Round heat. Wishing Ramzi a speedy recovery ? #RipCurlProBellsBeach @ripcurl @originalbonsoy @visitmelbourne — World Surf League (@wsl) April 22, 2025 «He'd just finished the wave and was waiting for the score. I saw him walking, then he went into the rock. The other wave hit him from behind… he said, 'I'm gone, I'm gone.'» On Instagram, Boukhiam shared a photo of himself being helped from the water by two surfers, writing: «Life doesn't always make sense… and right now, it's really tough to accept what happened». «Getting a major injury — again — and during a contest I felt so ready for, just breaks me», he added. «With everything I've already been through, it honestly hits deep». He thanked fellow surfers for their support and vowed to come back «stronger than ever», saying, «everything happens for a reason». Boukhiam was competing at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, the longest-running event in professional surfing and one of the most iconic stops on the World Surf League Championship Tour.
