SURFING: Old guard trio back to challenge young guns as elite world tour returns

SYDNEY – Surfing’s elite world tour kicks off this week at Australia’s Bells Beach, as five-time world champion Carissa Moore, Stephanie Gilmore, and Gabriel Medina return to face a new generation of surfers who have raised the competition in their absence.

The trio, who stepped away for various reasons, will encounter a higher level of competition on the 12-stop tour, now in its 50th year—especially on legs featuring large, powerful waves.

“I am so stoked to be back,” Moore, who had her first child last year, told Reuters. “Being away for two years really gave me a renewed sense of appreciation for the sport—getting to do something that pushes me out of my comfort zone every day, challenges me, takes me around the world, and lets me meet great people.”

Moore won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and took 2024 off the tour to focus on defending her title on the challenging reef break of Teahupo'o in Tahiti. Competing while pregnant with her daughter Olena, she missed out on the medals and has since focused on raising her family while enjoying the sport from the sidelines.

“Yeah, it’s been fun to be a fan the last two years, I’ll tell you that,” the 33-year-old Hawaiian said. “I’ve been super impressed with how everybody’s been competing and raising the level of the sport, especially in waves of consequence.”

Moore and 38-year-old Australian Gilmore dominated professional surfing for more than a decade, combining for 13 world titles. During their absence, a new generation of surfers—including 2025 champion Molly Picklum, Olympic gold medalist Caroline Marks, and 2024 world No. 1 Caitlin Simmers—have impressed audiences with powerful wave performances at Teahupo'o and Hawaii’s Pipeline.

Even they face a rising threat in French teenager Tya Zebrowski, who, at just 15, will be the youngest surfer to join the elite world tour.

Medina Returns

On the men’s side, Brazil’s Gabriel Medina returns from injury but will not resume his rivalry with Hawaiian John John Florence, who opted to spend another year sailing with his family. Medina, 32, will compete against fellow Brazilians Yago Dora, the reigning champion, and two-time champion Filipe Toledo, as well as Americans Griffin Colapinto and Australians Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing, for the title.

The tour begins Wednesday at Bells Beach and runs through nine countries, concluding at Pipeline, surfing’s spiritual homeland, in December. New to the schedule is New Zealand’s Raglan, known for its high-performance left-hand waves, while Australia’s Gold Coast and California’s Lower Trestles return to the lineup.

The U.S.-Israeli tensions with Iran remain a potential concern for the wave pool event planned in Abu Dhabi this October.

The World Surf League (WSL) has also scrapped the controversial winner-takes-all finale, returning to a cumulative points system to determine titles. The season-ending leg at Pipeline will carry 1.5 times the standard points to reflect its prestige.

A new initiative starting in 2027 will award a maternity wild card, a move that delighted Moore. “I hope that I can inspire other moms to keep doing what they love,” she said. “I am excited and motivated to push myself in ways I haven’t before and see how I can grow as a person, mom, wife, sister, friend, and daughter.”

-Reporting by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Peter Rutherford/Reuters