Junior surfing took center stage at Willard Beach in Ballito during the Ballito Pro Festival, where the O’Neill SMTH Shapes Rookie Rippers opened the program from July 4-6. Competition was halted on day one because of massive surf before resuming on day two as conditions improved, with surfers in the U12 through U18 divisions riding clean, solid four-foot waves. Heat times were shortened from 20 minutes to 15 to keep the schedule on track and to help prepare athletes for the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in early September. Ry Colepeper delivered one of the standout moments with a perfect 10-point wave, and Surfing South Africa general manager Danielle Powis said the event showed the strength of the country’s junior surfing pipeline and the decision to put safety first.

South African surfers also had a strong showing in the WSL O’Neill SMTH Shapes Ballito Pro Junior, which produced three podium finishes for the home country. Louise Lepront reached her first Ballito Pro Junior final and finished second after Australia’s Charli Hately won with a last-minute wave, 10.90 to 9.83. Lepront’s runner-up finish moved her to No. 1 in the WSL Africa Junior rankings. Kieran Murphy and Emily Jenkinson each finished third, while Simon Winter rose to the top of the WSL Africa Junior men’s rankings.

Brazil’s Ryan Kainalo won the men’s title with a 14.87 total in the final, beating reigning world junior champion Dane Henry. Kainalo also claimed his third Ballito Pro Junior title. Hately won the women’s title.

Kelly Slater received a World Surf League wildcard into next month’s Tahiti Pro at Teahupo’o as he continues his comeback from hip surgery. The 11-time world champion said he has recently returned to daily surfing, wants “competitive reps before August,” and plans to enter the event “without pressure.”

The Tahiti Pro is scheduled to start in about 32 days and comes after a 42-day break, which the article said is the longest gap on this year’s Championship Tour schedule. Slater has won the event five times, reached the final seven times and last claimed victory there a decade ago. The WSL has given him wildcard opportunities in recent seasons, including at contests tied to his co-founded brand Outerknown.

The WSL also announced local trials wildcards for Eimeo Czermak and 13-year-old Kelia Gallina, who is nicknamed “Miss Teahupo’o.” The article said local knowledge can be an advantage at Teahupo’o, where home-water familiarity has helped surfers such as Kauli Vaast and Vahine Fierro beat higher-ranked Championship Tour competitors.

Yago Dora and Sawyer Lindblad won the Rio Pro in Saquarema, tightening the Championship Tour title races in both divisions. Dora claimed his second Rio Pro men’s title by defeating Leo Fioravanti 15 to 13.17 in the final, powered by a backside, no-grab full-rotation air that earned an 8.5.

The result pushed Dora up to third in the CT rankings, less than 1,000 points behind Fioravanti, who could have taken the overall lead with a win. In the women’s event, Lindblad beat 15-year-old rookie Tya Zebrowski 7.67 to 6.10 for her first CT victory after falling short in her previous three title matches.

Gabriela Bryan and Carissa Moore remained first and second in the women’s standings after each finished fifth in Brazil, while Lindblad moved into third. The Rio Pro results left the CT title race tighter on both the men’s and women’s sides.

Apple has expanded its sponsorship with the World Surf League, and the league now describes Apple as both its official wearable technology partner and part of its official mobile phone designation. Beginning with the 2026 season, WSL broadcasts will incorporate data from athlete-worn Apple Watches, including distance traveled on a wave, wave speed and heart rate, while iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models will be used to capture social and broadcast footage.

WSL chief executive Ryan Crosby said the watch data is being added because the league can now clean, store and warehouse the information for broadcast use. He also said the watches give surfers real-time offshore information that can help them understand priority, required scores and other details in difficult conditions. Apple released a promotional video highlighting the partnership, which is now in its third year after first being announced in 2023.

The collaboration was designed to let surfers view live heat scores, running clock information, lead changes and priority updates without looking away from the ocean. The rollout was not without early problems, with Championship Tour surfer Leo Fioravanti complaining during an event at Pipe that his watch did not function properly, and some athletes reportedly facing fines for not wearing the device. Despite those issues, Apple Watches have become a normal part of Championship Tour competition and are described as successful in part because they have become unobtrusive during events.

Italo Ferreira suffered a deep laceration to his right knee two days before the El Salvador Pro during a freesurf session at Sunzal and required eight stitches after what he described on Instagram as an incident in which ‘another surfer ran right over me.’ Local reports said he was struck by a novice longboarder while surfing with his wife, Sofia Larocca. Wozzle said he was medicated, reported being pain-free and remains under observation.

Ferreira, the World Surf League (WSL) tour rankings leader, Olympic gold medalist and former world champion, is seeded into heat nine of round two at the El Salvador Pro, which is set to begin Friday at Punta Roca. Heat nine will pair him with the winner of the Ramzi Boukhiam vs. Matt McGillivray matchup, according to the heat draw. He has not officially withdrawn, but the timing of the sutured knee gives him little time to recover and could force a short-notice pullout — which would join Jordy Smith as an already withdrawn competitor. Organizers, medical staff and Ferreira’s team will reassess his fitness ahead of the event.

The World Surf League (WSL) awarded Kauai-based Tatiana Weston‑Webb (BRA) a wildcard to the VIVO Rio Pro Presented by Corona Cero, which is scheduled to run June 19–27 at Praia de Itaúna in Saquarema. The Rio appearance will be Weston‑Webb’s first competition since the birth of her daughter, Bia, and follows a midseason withdrawal in 2025 for mental health reasons and a later pregnancy announcement; she last surfed at Saquarema while pregnant.

Weston‑Webb said the comeback will be emotional with Bia by her side and that motherhood has given her greater emotional strength, maturity and gratitude. She said she intends to compete “in a lighter way” while maintaining her intensity and desire to win. The wildcard gives her a competitive opportunity and a first step toward her stated goal of returning to the Championship Tour in 2026, while reconnecting with Brazilian fans at a familiar venue. Ivan Martinho, President of WSL Latin America, said her bond with Praia de Itaúna and its spectators will make the return memorable and called the selection meaningful for local supporters.

The World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) opened the season after a seven-month offseason with a slate of format changes that reshaped early standings. The league removed the Final 5, reinstated cumulative points, eliminated the mid-season cut and non‑elimination rounds, added a new New Zealand venue and introduced bonus points for the Pipeline finale. Four early events across Australia and New Zealand followed, and those rule changes produced a start weighted toward right-point waves that affected the initial rankings and heat outcomes.

On the men’s tour, Brazilian goofy‑footers Italo Ferreira, Miguel Pupo, Gabriel Medina and Yago Dora led the standings after the Oceania events. George Pittar won at Margaret River, while several regular‑footed contenders — including Kanoa Igarashi, Jack Robinson and Jordy Smith — underperformed early in the season.

On the women’s side, Lakey Peterson, Stephanie Gilmore and Carissa Moore won the three most recent events, and 20‑year‑old Sawyer Lindblad moved into the top five following a final and a semifinal. The tour is scheduled next to the Punta Roca stop in El Salvador, then Brazil.

Equipment and shaper trends tracked closely with results. Surfboard Empire’s CT Shaper Rankings presented by Veia showed Lost retook the lead from DHD after the Oceania swing, holding a 9,140‑point advantage; Marcio Zouvi’s Sharp Eye moved into third, leapfrogging Channel Islands.

Individual surfer‑board links also stood out. Carissa Moore recorded her first CT win of the season at Raglan riding a Lost board, and both women’s Raglan finalists rode boards sporting Mayhem decals. Italo Ferreira won on an IF15 model shaped by Simon Jones, a PU build made at the request of his coach Leandro Dora; that same IF15 assisted Timmy Patterson to a win. Matt Biolos remained prominent after three consecutive CT Shaper of the Year titles and a Stab in the Dark All‑Stars win. Lost’s large points cushion positioned the brand as the early favorite for upcoming South American events, with surfers Griffin, Yago, Carissa, Gabriela and Caroline noted as typically strong in those conditions.

Filipe Toledo posted the day’s highest single-wave score at the Raglan Championship Tour stop, earning an 8.83 for a seven-turn ride on a wide, low-rocker swallowtail fitted with a two-plus-one fin arrangement known as a Modern 2.
Observers described the equipment choice as unconventional for the conditions at Raglan. Toledo said the Modern 2 setup held speed through Raglan’s shifting flat and steep sections and allowed him to concentrate on placing strong turns, and the unusual configuration drew public notice from 11-time world champion Kelly Slater, who compared it to past twin and quad experiments by surfers such as Dane Reynolds.
Toledo is scheduled to face rankings leader Gabriel Medina in Round 3, and it remains unclear whether he will stick with the same two-plus-one fin configuration for upcoming heats.