Surfing Today with Rip Curl South Africa

TEAHUPO’O, Tahiti, French Polynesia – The world’s best surfers are preparing for the penultimate event on the 2022 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), the Outerknown Tahiti Pro, at the infamous reef break, Teahupo’o. Fittingly known in the surfing world as “The End of the Road,” Teahupo’o will decide the Final 5 men and Final 5 women who will clinch a spot in the Rip Curl WSL Finals and compete for the undisputed World Titles at Lower Trestles. The Outerknown Tahiti Pro holds a competition window from August 11 through 21, 2022. The WSL Tours and Competition team will select the best days out of this window to run the competition. 

Teahupo’o is one of the most extreme waves on Tour. With massive barrels, heavy drops, and shallow reef, it’s a test of commitment, bravery, and barrel-riding skill for even the most elite surfers in the world. Given a good forecast, there is a massive opportunity to witness the awe-inspiring tubes of Teahupo’o. The Outerknown Tahiti Pro will also give us a window into what surfing in the next Olympics could look like. Teahupo’o is set to be the stage in 2024. 

Women’s CT Returns to Tahiti for First Time in 13 Years

The Outerknown Tahiti Pro will finally see the highly anticipated return of the women’s CT to Teahupo’o. This is the first time in nearly 20 years, making it a defining moment for surfing. The women were initially slated to return in 2021. Then the event had to be cancelled due to the global pandemic. As this year’s final stop, Tahiti completes the first fully combined CT season for men’s and women’s in the sport’s history. The new fully integrated CT format showcases women at events such as Pipeline and Teahupo’o. This furthers the WSL’s commitment to equality and builds on the organization’s announcement in 2019 to institute equal prize money across all owned and operated events. 

Line up at Teahupo’o, Tahiti (Photo by Matt Dunbar; /WSL);

Outerknown Tahiti Pro To Decide WSL Final 5 

With everything on the line before the Rip Curl WSL Finals, the risk and reward have never been higher. So far, two men, Filipe Toledo (BRA) and Jack Robinson (AUS), and two women, Carissa Moore (HAW) and Johanne Defay (FRA) have already clinched their spots in the WSL Final 5. The remaining spots sit within close reach of many competitors.  

Jordy Smith at Teahupo’o in Tahiti, French Polynesia. (Photo by Matt Dunbar/WSL via Getty Images)

On the women’s side, everyone still has a chance of making the WSL Final 5 except for Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) and Caroline Marks (USA). Marks fell in the rankings after withdrawing from four of this season’s CT events due to medical reasons. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Stephanie Gilmore(AUS), and Brisa Hennessy (CRI) currently sit within the WSL Final 5. Still, seasoned vets Lakey Peterson (USA), and Tyler Wright (AUS), could easily take their places.

Everyone below Jordy Smith (RSA), currently ranked No. 13, is out of contention on the men’s side. Coming from his win at the Corona Open J-Bay Pro, Ethan Ewing hopes to hold third place in the WSL Final 5. Italo Ferreira (BRA), and Griffin Colapinto (USA), currently hold spots four and five, respectively. They will have to fend off Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Callum Robson (AUS), and John John Florence (HAW). They are close on their heels and hungry for a chance to compete for the World Title.