Latest news with #wsl
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fitzgibbons' fight to stay on tour is down to the wire
Sally Fitzgibbons has survived the first hurdle in securing her future on the World Surf League's top tour, advancing through the elimination round at the Margaret River Pro. But another Australian veteran wasn't as fortunate, with Ryan Callinan packing his bags as a victim of the mid-season cut. A huge swell arrived at the famous Western Australian break on Tuesday for the resumption of competition after two lay days, with wave faces at times topping five metres. Waking up with this swell! 🌊🚨 The @westernaustralia #MargaretRiverPro is ON. Watch live it at — World Surf League (@wsl) May 19, 2025 Championship Tour veteran Fitzgibbons was pitted in a heat against Bettylou Sakura Johnson, the Hawaiian winner of their final at the Gold Coast Pro last weekend. Trials winner, local surfer Willow Hardy, was also in the heat which became a neck and neck battle with less than a point splitting the trio at the end. With the surfers trying to avoid being pounded by the heavy waves, Sakura Johnson (8.84) took the win with 2017 champion Fitzgibbons (8.33) second ahead of Hardy (7.97). She next faces current rankings leader Gabriela Bryan, with the Hawaiian the defending Margaret River Pro champion. Currently ranked 14th, Fitzgibbons needs at least a quarter-final appearance to avoid a third straight top 10 mid-season cut, while holding her ranking will ensure she keeps her place on the Championship Tour in 2026, with the women's field expanding. American veteran Lakey Peterson, who also advanced through sudden-death, is the only surfer in the field who can take her place. Callinan, meanwhile, is headed to the Challenger Series after finishing last in his elimination showdown with Hawaiian Barron Mamiya and Jacob Willcox. The 32-year-old dropped to No.34 in the rankings, with the top 22 men moving on to the next tour stop at Lower Trestles in California. The Newcastle surfer's hopes were hit hard when he missed two events, through injury, and then for the arrival of his baby earlier this month. Fellow Australians Mikey McDonagh and Winter Vincent both moved through elimination into the round of 32.
News.com.au
30-04-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Eight-time world surfing champ Stephanie Gilmore will end her exile at Gold Coast Pro
Australian surfing legend Stephanie Gilmore will end her self-imposed exile from the World Surf League and make a cameo appearance at the Gold Coast Pro after almost two years away from competition. Gilmore, an eight-time world champion who stepped away before the start of the 2024 season, has been given a wildcard into the event, which she has won six times. The 37-year-old last competed in August 2023, having taken the 2024 season off to focus on her mental health, touring the world surfing. She was expected to return in 2025 but opted to extend her time away from competition. But confirming she'll start at Burleigh Heads, her home territory where the event is back on the schedule for the first time since 2019, Gilmore said that was enough to lure her back for the action this weekend. 'I'm super excited to have this opportunity to get back in the jersey for the CT's return to the Gold Coast,' Gilmore said. The 8x World Champ has entered the chat. âž¡ï¸�Full wildcard breakdown below. âž¡ï¸�Stephanie Gilmore is IN replacing Tatiana Weston-Webb. âž¡ï¸�Nadia Erostarbe is IN as the ongoing replacement for Johanne Defay. âž¡ï¸�Ian Gentil continues to replace Gabriel Medina. âž¡ï¸�Ramzi Boukhiam is OUT due… — World Surf League (@wsl) April 30, 2025 'I've been enjoying my time away from tour, but I'm still a competitor at heart, so I am really looking forward to clicking back into that mindset and testing myself after some time away from competition. 'It's so close to home as well, so it's really a no-brainer.' Gilmore is set to return to the WSL tour full time in 2026, keen to compete against the new generation of stars, including Bells Beach winner Isabel Nicholls, who will be a headline act on the Gold Coast after her stirring win last weekend.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ewing stars in Bells surf as Huxtable shocks world No.1
Ethan Ewing has powered into the quarter-finals at Bells Beach with the highest heat score so far among the men or women at the Rip Curl Pro. Ewing, the only Australian surfer in the men's field who has won Bells before, shone on Anzac Day with his round-of-16 victory. Compatriot Xavier Huxtable started a pulsating day of competition with a massive upset, knocking out world No.1 Italo Ferreira. Then Ewing had 9.33 and 9.43 scores on Friday afternoon to post 18.76 in his win over Australian-born Connor O'Leary (13.34), now surfing for Japan. In the same way that compatriot Tyler Wright looks well-placed heading into the women's quarters, Ewing is boasting strong form while key rivals are being dispatched. American world No.1 Caitlin Simmers, also the defending champion at Bells Beach, and Australian world No.3 Molly Picklum were shock losers on Thursday in the women's round of 16. "I've had some shockers out here with consistency and not catching too many waves, so it feels good to have the Bowl give me one back," Ewing said. "That was super fun. "It just feels good to be in rhythm out here." Huxtable's joy at taking down Ferreira was short-lived, with Griffin Colapinto convincingly beating him 12.90 to 3.00 in the round of 16. But the local underdog, who gained entry to the Rip Curl Pro by winning the local trials event, pumped up the crowd with his triumph over the Brazilian ace. massive moment as Xavier takes the win over world number 1 🤯📺 Men's Round of 32 is LIVE.#RipCurlProBellsBeach @ripcurl @originalbonsoy @melbourne — World Surf League (@wsl) April 25, 2025 "I got to the end of it and looked up, the whole stand, all my family and friends, everyone, was up there just screaming - going 'C'mon'," Huxtable said. "It got me so excited. It's a feeling that's pretty-much impossible to replicate." Ferreira had beaten Huxtable to win their opening-round heat. The third surfer involved, Moroccan Ramzi Boukhiam, dramatically suffered a freak knee injury and was forced out of the event. Organisers had hoped to finish the men's round of 16 on Friday but three heats remained - including Australian Jack Robinson against Brazilian Filipe Toledo. View this post on Instagram A post shared by World Surf League (@wsl) Ewing will face in-form Japanese Olympic silver medallist Kanoa Igarashi in the last eight. The winner will take on either South African Jordy Smith or Australian Morgan Cibilic in the semi-finals. Cibilic, like Huxtable a wildcard entry for the Rip Curl Pro, also scored a major upset to reach the quarters when he dispatched Italian world No.6 Leonardo Fioravanti. Smith won the last round in El Salvador, his first tour victory since taking out Bells Beach eight years ago. Before Ewing's masterclass, American Jake Marshall also had shone on Friday with his 18.33 to beat Joao Chianca in their top-quality round of 32 heat. Organisers waited two hours on Friday morning before resuming competition in four to six-foot conditions, with the event window ending on Monday.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Aussie surfing duo dumped from El Salvador Pro
Australians Sally Fitzgibbons and Liam O'Brien have come up short in the elimination round at the World Surf League's event in El Salvador. But there was better news for compatriot Ryan Callinan, who progressed out of Heat 2 in the Punta Roca water on Friday. A day after top-ranked Aussies Ethan Ewing and Molly Picklum recorded opening-round wins on the fourth stop of the championship tour, veteran Fitzgibbons struggled in three-to-four-foot waves and missed her chance to progress to the round of 16. After American Sawyer Lindblad took out Heat 1, world No.16 Fitzgibbons could only muster wave scores of 5.50 and 4.50 to finish third in Heat 2, behind Brazil's Luana Silva (13.00), the 2024 world junior champion, and event wildcard Alyssa Spencer (11.33) of the US. "This wave has so many factors, the heat, the rocks, the sun in your face," said Silva. "7am, that sun's straight in your face, and it's really hard to navigate the waves with the sun directly in your face. I was trying to feel the wave, and just try to open up as much as I can." World No.17 O'Brien also finished a disappointing third in the men's second heat, his best two-wave score totalling 10.33, behind Southern California's Levi Slawson (13.10) and Alejo Muniz (11.47) of Brazil. first CT event and first CT heat win ✅Levi takes on Ethan in R/32 Heat 5 nextThe @surfcity #ElSalvadorPro is LIVE. Tune in at — World Surf League (@wsl) April 4, 2025 Through to the round of 32 though is world No.29 Callinan, who was second in Heat 4 behind 2022 rookie of the year Samuel Pupo. The Brazilian enjoyed his highest score of the season, bettering the 32-year-old from Newcastle 14.07 to 13.07. Local wildcard Bryan Perez (14.13) showed his knowledge and power at his home break to win Heat 1 and advance alongside Pupo's older brother Miguel. "I just wanna have fun in the water. Just enjoy my time, catch the wave, and have fun, just letting go of everything," said Perez. "I'm here with my family, with my coach, with the people that come to the city to support me. It's beautiful to see."
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Slater winds back the clock at Pipe Pro
Legendary surfer Kelly Slater has wound back the clock yet again, ousting Australian Ethan Ewing to advance to the quarter-finals of the Pipe Pro in Hawaii. The 11-time world champ, who turns 53 next week, stepped up in big surf on Friday (Saturday AEDT) at the famed Pipeline break on the north shore of Oahu. Slater began the day by downing Indonesian Rio Waida 14.83 to 12.83. The American went to another level in his round-of-16 clash with the 26-year-old Ewing, who finished second in the World Surf League (WSL) title race in 2023. When the waves show up, so does @kellyslaterKelly's booked himself a ticket to Finals Day! @lexususa #PipePro is LIVE. — World Surf League (@wsl) February 8, 2025 Slater won 17.16 to 14.83 to set up a quarter-final against Brazilian Ian Gouveia as he chases an unprecedented ninth triumph at Pipeline. WSL tour rookie George Pittar was the only Australian man to advance to the last eight. The 22-year-old's two best waves of 6.80 and 7.30 came late in his narrow 14.10 to 13.83 round-of-16 win over Japan's Kanoa Igarashi. New South Welshman Pittar's quarter-final opponent will be Italian Leonardo Fioravanti, who beat Australian Joel Vaughan. Australian Paris Olympics silver medallist Jack Robinson was unlucky to be eliminated in the round of 32. Robinson was awarded a perfect 10 from the judges for an epic barrel in his clash with Alan Cleland, the first Mexican to compete on the the WSL Tour. But Cleland still advanced 12.83 to 12.17 after Robinson was unable to find a second decent-scoring wave. The men's and women's Pipe Pro titles will be decided on Saturday (Sunday AEDT). Australians Molly Picklum, Tyler Wright and Isabella Nicholls are all through to the women's quarters.
