The WSL 2025 season kicks off with major changes, including a move to Cloudbreak Fiji for the finals, a wave pool event in Abu Dhabi, and the absence of several top surfers. Australian athletes Jack Robinson and Molly Picklum are poised to take advantage of these new opportunities.
With the opening event of the WSL 2025 season just days away, there’s plenty to look forward to for Australia n surf fans this year, not to mention some uncharted territory in amongst a revamped WSL world tour.
From shock news on the eve of the season, to a heavy hitting new finals location, a wave pool event in Abu Dhabi, as well as the key Aussies in the hunt for the ultimate prize in surfing; \Reigning world champion John John Florence has officially announced he won’t be looking to defend his title in 2025 – stepping back from competition. Another former world champion in Gabriel Medina also revealed to fans that injury would rule him out of at least the first few events of the year. The news means two of the biggest threats and rivals to Australia’s Jack Robinson won’t be there, opening the door even more for the frontrunner from down under, as well as the rest of the competition. Aussie surfing legend and multiple world champ Steph Gilmore was also eyeing a return to the WSL, but also announced she won’t be returning. Gilmore will instead continue working on her recovery from ongoing injuries.\Moving the finals to Cloudbreak Fiji, after several years in the smaller surf of Lower Trestles, California, has shaken up the 2025 calendar. Many surf fans were thrilled by the news, with questions raised in recent years over the wave quality to decide the champion at the last stop on tour. “I would be confident taking my 11 year old daughter to Trestles and her catching a wave there, I wouldn’t let her get off the boat at Cloudbreak,” Blakey said. “Cloudbreak finals are the ultimate exclamation on what is already an impressive schedule. While Trestles is consistent, Cloudbreak just brings a whole different element. Imagine you’re surfing off for a world title at a location that can hold twenty foot waves – (fingers crossed we get them!) “There’s no fear at Trestles except maybe not getting the wave you need to turn a heat, the fear at Cloudbreak is sometimes the wave that’s coming.” Matt Wilkinson competing in the quarterfinals of the Outerknown Fiji Pro after winning Heat 1 of Round Four at Cloudbreak. Brother and fellow WSL commentator Vaughan Blakey is another huge fan of the updated calendar. “If we get pumping surf at some of these locations, it could even eclipse those years. Ending this thing in waves of pure truth at Cloudbreak is just too tantalising as a surf fan. We want to see world titles decided in waves that really mean something.”\Making the finals is no easy feat across a long season, however should Australia’s 2024 top five finalists, Jack Robinson and Molly Picklum, make it to the show down in Fiji, both have the skillset to revel in the new finals location. Following the first stop at notorious Pipeline Hawaii, where a familiarity with the ocean couldn’t be more crucial, comes the Abu Dhabi Pro, where surfers will look to shine in a saltwater wave pool that will require a completely different approach. Some of the competitors who have already trained at the venue described it as a “surreal” experience, with up and coming Aussie surfer George Pittar excited by the prospect. “It’s pretty crazy having an event there, it feels like you’re surfing the future. It’s a different kind of pressure with what you do with the wave in the wave pool. My first ever wave over there training, I actually fell off,” she laughed. “It was nerve-wracking in a different way. In a way the wave pool is the ultimate testing ground in that it becomes an even playing field for everyone, you don’t have an excuse.” Women’s surfing legend Sally Fitzgibbons, meanwhile, reflected on the big evolution she’s seen regarding wave pools. “We kind of laughed a bit at first like ‘yeah right’. As whispers became reality it never ceases to amaze me how far it’s come. Now you have commercial wave pools where the public can book in for a session. “It is obviously a more sterile environment compared to the nature of ocean surfing, half the battle in the ocean is understanding there’s a power bigger than you, and you have to connect with it, whereas with the pool, there will be kids that learn to surf in the pool and not the ocean, and it will become more like a skate-run, snowboard run where we also see a range of all new tricks which is exciting too. “I think surfing can be many things, and there’s room for different forms. I’m especially excited for surf enthusiasts who live in places not close to the ocean, and this being an entry level for them to the sport.”\When Central Coast local Molly Picklum charged her way to the first perfect ten at Pipeline on the women’s WSL Tour, it marked a historic moment for women’s surfing. While the current crop of young competitors heap praise on the early women’s surfing pioneers, they also continue to build upon the new opportunitie
WSL Surfing John John Florence Gabriel Medina Cloudbreak Abu Dhabi Wave Pool Jack Robinson Molly Picklum Australia
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