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.

The World Surf League quietly sold its stake in Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in Central California, several sources confirmed. The transaction was not publicly announced by the WSL or by Kelly Slater Wave Co., and the league did not respond to requests for comment. Kaniela Neves, president of the Surf Ranch, acknowledged the transaction and said the company had not yet formally released acquisition details. It remains unclear who now owns the Surf Ranch, although Los Angeles investor Joseph Self updated his LinkedIn profile to show a partnership beginning in February 2026.

The move followed the WSL’s hiring of CEO Ryan Crosby in 2024, under whom the league refocused on core surf audiences and adopted a revamped tour format. The prior era under Erik Logan emphasized non-endemic audiences and included a reality show.

The WSL shifted its wave-pool efforts to the Middle East, building Surf Abu Dhabi in 2024 and adding it to the Championship Tour in 2025 and 2026. That change signaled a move away from the Surf Ranch as the centerpiece of the league’s wave-pool activity.

Kelly Slater first revealed the Surf Ranch in December 2015 and the WSL majority-acquired the facility in May 2016. The venue hosted Championship Tour events in 2018, 2019, and 2021, and it has continued to operate commercially, reportedly renting for as much as $70,000 a day.

Veteran surfers aged 30 and older delivered early-season comebacks on the WSL Championship Tour, reshaping the standings. Eight-time world champion Steph Gilmore returned after a two-year break. After losing opening heats at Bells and Margaret River and questioning her ability to win, she chose Snapper Rocks to prove herself and won the Gold Coast Pro at her home break. The victory was her 34th career CT win and moved her up from last place to seventh in the rankings while eliminating several top opponents.

Lakey Peterson reinforced the veterans’ resurgence by winning the Margaret River Pro, beating Erin Brooks and competitors including Caroline Marks. Peterson’s win, plus two fifth-place finishes, leaves her tied for second overall. Many rookies have underperformed so far, with Nadia Erostarbe cited as an exception.

The Gold Coast Pro was held at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast and the men’s title went to Ethan Ewing, who defeated Connor O’Leary for his third CT win. After the Australian leg, Luana Silva is wearing the women’s yellow jersey, with Gabriela Bryan, Lakey Peterson, Molly Picklum and Caity Simmers rounding out the women’s top five. Gabriel Medina holds the men’s yellow jersey, trailed in the top five by George Pittar, Miguel Pupo, Ethan Ewing and Samuel Pupo.

Inertia framed the Snapper Rocks results as early momentum shifts that set the stage for the debut New Zealand Pro in Raglan, scheduled for May 15–25.

Shark sightings at professional surfing events have reignited debate over whether halted heats should be resumed or restarted, forcing officials to balance athlete safety with competitive fairness. At the World Surf League’s Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro at Snapper Rocks on Saturday, a 6.5-foot shark sighting forced officials to halt Women’s Round 2, Heat 3 with about five minutes remaining while Caity Simmers, the 2024 world champion, led Vahine Fierro. WSL vice president for Tours and Competition Renato Hickel said the shark was seen within roughly 500 meters. Officials put the heat on hold under established safety protocols while they and the water safety team monitored conditions.

Organizers clarified the interrupted heat would be “resumed” rather than re-surfed and set a procedure that included a 6:45 a.m. call for a possible 7:05 a.m. restart the next day. The decision to schedule a possible restart prompted criticism and controversy over restart rules. The dispute centered on whether the held heat should be resumed with the remaining time or treated as a new heat under restart regulations.

When the competition resumed the following day, Caity Simmers advanced to the next round. The incident underlined an ongoing operational challenge for professional surfing events, as apex predators can temporarily halt contests and prompt on-the-spot procedural decisions that affect heat outcomes, event scheduling, and athlete preparation on the water. Officials and organizers must weigh minimizing risk to surfers against preserving competitive equity, and competitors face practical and ethical questions about how temporary shark sightings should be handled. The articles say there is no easy answer to how events should apply restart or resume rules after in-water interruptions.

Snapper Rocks returns to the WSL Championship Tour after a five-year absence, following last year’s staging at Burleigh Heads. Organizers said sand flushed from the Tweed River mouth groomed Snapper Rocks’ bank, producing solid head-high surf with long grinding walls, throaty tubes and big-air sections. Joel Parkinson called the early forecast a “barrel fest,” raising expectations for high-performance heats.

The Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro presented by GWM, Stop No. 3 on the WSL Championship Tour, will run May 1–11 with competition at Snapper Rocks. Organizers scheduled first call for Friday, May 1 at 7:30 a.m. AEST, with a potential 8:00 a.m. AEST start, and they expect to run a full day of competition on opening day. The world’s top surfers have arrived on the Gold Coast; Bonsoy is the title partner and GWM is the presenting sponsor.

Several headline matchups and ranking storylines add intrigue. Eight-time world champion and six-time Snapper winner Steph Gilmore is scheduled to face Erin Brooks, who captured the 2024 Challenger Series event at Snapper Rocks with a perfect 10; Gilmore sits last on the women’s Championship Tour after two losses. Gabriel Medina reclaimed the tour lead after finishing third at Bells Beach and second at Margaret River, is pre-seeded into round two and will meet the winner of Ramzi Boukhiam versus Morgan Cibilic. Kauli Vaast has lost both of his heats this season by less than a point, and Gabriela Bryan is tied with Lakey Peterson atop the rankings and could draw Sally Fitzgibbons or Bella Kenworthy as an opponent.

George Pittar’s breakout win at the Margaret River Pro reshaped the early World Surf League standings. The 23-year-old captured his first Championship Tour victory at Main Break in clean 3 to 4 foot surf, posting the event’s highest single-wave score, a near-perfect 9.00, on the way to a final-round win over three-time champion Gabriel Medina. Pittar said the victory was for his supporters and friends. The result moved him to World No. 2 and lifted Medina to World No. 1, leaving fewer than 1,000 points separating Medina, Pittar and season-opener winner Miguel Pupo in the men’s title race.

Pittar’s run came through an elite men’s field that included Filipe Toledo, reigning world champion Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira, and capped a steep rise for the 23-year-old, who had missed the mid-season cut at Margaret River the previous year. He finished nearly three points ahead of Medina after capitalizing on a Medina priority error. His triumph marked the first time in more than a decade that a male surfer from Sydney’s Northern Beaches won a CT event and entered the top three in the world rankings. Brazilians supplied three semifinalists at Margaret River, matching the nationality spread from the season-opening event won by Miguel Pupo.

In the women’s draw, 31-year-old Lakey Peterson claimed her seventh CT victory and her second Margaret River title. Peterson advanced to the final by dispatching Erin Brooks, Caroline Marks and Sawyer Lindblad, then posted a 6.40 in the final to overtake Luana Silva, who needed a 6.01. Peterson’s result left her level with Gabriela Bryan in the women’s Treble standings. The tour now heads to the Gold Coast for the next stop on the Championship Tour.

A new video edit titled “Fail to Fiji” chronicles Jacob Willcox’s mental recovery after injury, competitive setbacks and narrowly missing requalification for the World Surf League Championship Tour. Filmmaker Chipo framed the six-month edit around the mental toll of Willcox’s injury and the Newcastle loss, following the Western Australian as he chased swells, tried to rediscover his “why” and ultimately traveled to Fiji to reset and reflect.

Willcox was relegated from the Championship Tour in 2024 and launched a bid to requalify for the 2026 CT. He began the campaign by winning the season’s first Challenger Series event and received a wildcard into the Margaret River Pro, where he beat fellow Australian Oscar Berry in Round One before drawing world champion Yago Dora. Judges did not uphold Dora’s interference claim in that heat, which led to heated words in the water and an alleged on-land confrontation. An injury at the US Open sidelined Willcox for several events and he later suffered an ankle tweak that required rehabilitation. After his promising start his form dipped, producing results of 9th, 25th, 49th, 33rd and 13th at subsequent events. He entered the tour’s final stop at Newcastle sitting 10th in the rankings, finished 49th there and dropped to 12th, missing the top-10 cutoff for automatic promotion back to the CT. The edit and reporting say the injury and a missed heat win in Newcastle cost him requalification.

Willcox said he struggled with “head noise” on the trip home. He chased a Pacific swell to Fiji, linked up with former CT surfer Wade Carmichael and surfed Cloudbreak. He said time in the ocean brought him peace and perspective, and the final footage of the edit is intended to remind viewers why he believes he belongs on the Championship Tour. Willcox intends to return to the Challenger Series for another qualification attempt this year.