HUDAYRIYAT ISLAND, Abu Dhabi, UAE (Saturday, February 15, 2025) — A second full day of action at the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro, Stop No. 2 on the 2025 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), saw men’s and women’s Quarterfinalists determined. Clean conditions held throughout the day, allowing the world’s best surfers to draw creative lines on the three-foot 500-meter-long rides. Performance levels were raised throughout the women’s Qualifying and Elimination Rounds and the head-to-head heats of the men’s Round of 16, with newer names challenging the status quo.
Picklum and Bryan Lead the Charge as Next Generation Takes Control
Leading the charge for the new generation, Molly Picklum (AUS) and Gabriela Bryan (HAW), along with rookies Erin Brooks (CAN) and Bella Kenworthy (USA), took big Qualifying Round heat wins over the established CT veterans, who have historically held control at events held in Kelly Slater Wave Company (KSWC) technology. The victories saw all four surfers advance directly into the Quarterfinals.
It was pure aggression from the start for Bryan, who unleashed her progressive power surfing on the Surf Abu Dhabi system. The 22-year-old defeated two-time Surf Ranch Semifinalist Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) and the Tour’s longest-standing member, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS). Competing in her third CT event in a wave basin, Bryan has already secured her best result.
Bryan’s heat total was topped only by Picklum, who claimed the highest of the round, 13.83, to send 2021 Surf Ranch Pro winner Johanne Defay (FRA) into the Elimination Round, along with the remaining 2025 rookie, Vahine Fierro (FRA). Fierro’s impressive take on the wave held her in close contention throughout, but she was sent to the Night Session after Picklum upped the ante with the best number of the round on the left, a 7.23.
“You can only take it so serious, it’s fun,” Picklum said. “It’s been so fun to hang out and just like, cruising, singing. I’m happy to be through and just miss that Night Session completely. Although it would have been fun to do a couple more boogies in the night with the lights. But nah, it’s all good, I’m stoked to be through to tomorrow for sure.”
17-year-old Brooks and 18-year-old Kenworthy both earned their first CT heat wins as Tour members, their extensive experience growing up surfing in a variety of wave pools paying off today.
It was a shaky start for Brooks, who went incomplete on her first two attempts against two-time World Champion and current World No. 1 Tyler Wright (AUS) and 2024 Rookie of the Year Sawyer Lindblad (USA). The Canadian found her feet however, and improved on her next two, collecting the highest score of the heat on her final wave. Strong work from Wright on her forehand left the Australian needing a mid-range score on her second left to steal the victory from Brooks, but a stumble at the start allowed the rookie to move on through.
“I surf a lot of wave pools, so I feel very comfortable in them,” Brooks said. “I’m just so glad that we get to have an event here. It’s so special, and it’s so much fun knowing that you’re going to have perfect waves.”
Kenworthy took out the first-ever women’s CT heat to be held in the UAE. The Californian defeated CT veterans Brisa Hennessy (CRC) and Lakey Peterson (USA) with sharp surfing that was highly consistent in both directions. Already holding the lead after her first two waves, Kenworthy further improved on her following two, leaving Peterson, the 2019 Freshwater Pro winner, needing a large requirement, Hennessy a more attainable one. The Costa Rican held the high score of the heat, a 6.33, and put herself in contention on her final wave, but it was Kenworthy who claimed the jump into the Quarterfinals.
“I was super nervous,” Kenworthy said. “I was kind of just telling myself, I was like, ‘You’re not nervous.’ I was trying to gaslight myself to not be nervous. But it didn’t work because I was super nervous. I’m pretty happy.”
Solid Start for World Champions Marks and Simmers in Hunt for Inaugural Surf Abu Dhabi Victory
The two most recent women’s World Champions, Caroline Marks (USA) and Caitlin Simmers (USA), claimed wins in consecutive heats in the Qualifying Round. In their last appearance in the KSWC technology, Marks and Simmers faced off in the Semifinals, with Marks advancing to place runner-up. After their heat wins today, the pair are already into the Quarterfinals as they seek to better those results.
The 2023 World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist, Marks, held onto the lead in her heat despite explosive surfing from Isabella Nichols (AUS), who posted the highest single wave score of the round, a 7.67. Nichols burrowed deep into an outside barrel, before delivering multiple aggressive, fins-free turns to earn her high number. The Australian’s score from the left was low, however, leaving her 0.61 short of the number required to turn the heat. Meanwhile, the reliable top-to-bottom surfing of Marks was solid across all of her scores, giving the now 23-year-old a win on the date of birthday in the U.S.
“I love the high-pressure situations,” Marks said. “I think these Surf Ranch events are a great test on our minds. It’s fun to see if we can all rise to the occasion. I think even though it is a wave pool, it’s still going off a little bit of instinct.”
All three of the surfers in Simmers’ heat, which included Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) and wildcard Macy Callaghan (AUS), fell on their first waves, but Simmers, the reigning World Champion, turned it around from there. The free-flowing style of 19-year-old Simmers shone through on her first left, seeing her deep into two different backhand barrels, in between big fin-drifts, to gain her the heat lead, which she then retained throughout.
“It was so funny, like all of us kind of just did not do well on our first couple waves, so we were kind of just laughing about it,” Simmers said. “I guess that’s the fun part of it, is it’s like a skate contest. You can plan out your run and you can come in on land and talk with the people you’re up against, which is pretty funny.”
Lindblad, Fierro Push Through Night Session Eliminations and Into Quarterfinals
The two best scores of the Elimination Round went to Sawyer Lindblad (USA) and Vahine Fierro (FRA), who emerged from the pressure cooker and into the Quarterfinals. Featuring 12 women, including Olympic Medalists, World Junior Champions and a two-time World Champion, the round included two waves from each surfer, one right and one left, from which the single highest wave would count on the leaderboard.
Ultimately, Lindblad topped the leaderboard with a 7.00 (out of a possible 10), with her powerful forehand carves. Her score overtook the previous seven surfers, and fended off the four competitors following. Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) held onto the second position with a 6.67 on her right, but was ousted by the final surfer of the evening, Fierro, who went all out on her first wave to earn a 6.70 and claim second-place over the Hawaiian.
Two-time World Champion Wright was dispatched alongside fellow CT veterans Defay, Weston-Webb, and Fitzgibbons. Hennessy and Peterson were also eliminated in the round and are still holding in the Top 10 of the CT rankings. 2024 World Junior Champion Luana Silva (BRA), Pipe Quarterfinalist Isabella Nichols (AUS), and event wildcard Macy Callaghan (AUS) all put up strong showings but it wasn’t enough to advance to tomorrow’s Quarterfinals.
Fierro will take on Marks tomorrow in Quarterfinal 2, while Lindblad faces off with Bryan in Quarterfinal 4.
Big Upsets Open the Door for Fresh Victors as Colapinto, Toledo Eliminated
Jordy Smith (RSA) collected the first excellent score of the event, an 8.17, but needed more from his backhand to defeat Miguel Pupo (BRA), who moved into the Quarterfinals for the second event in a row.
It wasn’t long before Smith’s number was replaced, as rookie Jackson Bunch (HAW) took on 2024 World No 3. Griffin Colapinto (USA). Before Colapinto had even hit the water, Bunch had posted a huge 15.73 heat total. The youngest surfer on the men’s Tour, 21-year-old Bunch reeled through three different airs, combined with multiple critical hits to the lip, to earn the highest single wave score, a 9.23. The 2023 Surf Ranch Pro winner, Colapinto, pushed hard but couldn’t match the standard set by the rookie.
“I mean, going up against Griffin, he is pretty much one of the best surfers in the world,” Bunch said. “I just knew I had to bring my A-game and pull out all the tricks out of the bag. I came in end of November and was practicing with Seth Moniz and Barron [Mamiya] and got some good practice surfs in. The wave was a bit faster, so it was almost a little bit trickier. And now that it’s slower, I can dial it back and take my time and pick different turns in different spots. So yeah, just stoked to execute that wave.”
Differing fates befell the two Brazilian World Champions who appeared in consecutive heats. 2019 World Champion Italo Ferreira (BRA) closed the door on wildcard Mateus Herdy (BRA) with his first two waves, while two-time World Champion Filipe Toledo (BRA) was eliminated by Kanoa Igarashi (JPN). Igarashi posted the highest heat total of the event so far, 15.77, to defeat Toledo, the 2021 Surf Ranch Pro winner.
“I mean, competing against Filipe, to be honest, it’s the easiest strategy because you just have to give it your all,” Igarashi said. “You’re not thinking about scores, you’re not thinking about what you can do. It’s basically, you just got to give everything you have on the waves.”
Ethan Ewing (AUS), Rio Waida (INA), Jack Robinson (AUS), and Yago Dora (BRA) also carried their momentum from day one to progress into the Quarterfinals.
For highlights from today’s competition at the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
Surf Abu Dhabi Pro Women’s Qualifying Round Results:
HEAT 1: Bella Kenworthy (USA) 11.77 DEF. Brisa Hennessy (CRC) 10.66, Lakey Peterson (USA) 9.07
HEAT 2: Caroline Marks (USA) 12.67 DEF. Isabella Nichols (AUS) 12.07, Luana Silva (BRA) 7.74
HEAT 3: Caitlin Simmers (USA) 12.23 DEF. Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) 9.50, Macy Callaghan (AUS) 9.24
HEAT 4: Molly Picklum (AUS) 13.83 DEF. Vahine Fierro (FRA) 12.84, Johanne Defay (FRA) 9.63
HEAT 5: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 13.34 DEF. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 12.33, Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 9.07
HEAT 6: Erin Brooks (CAN) 11.80 DEF. Sawyer Lindblad (USA) 10.40, Tyler Wright (AUS) 10.30
Surf Abu Dhabi Pro Women’s Quarterfinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Molly Picklum (AUS) vs. Erin Brooks (CAN)
HEAT 2: Caroline Marks (USA) vs. Vahine Fierro (FRA)
HEAT 3: Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. Bella Kenworthy (USA)
HEAT 4: Sawyer Lindblad (USA) vs. Gabriela Bryan (HAW)
Surf Abu Dhabi Pro Men’s Round of 16 Results:
HEAT 1: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 13.60 DEF. Deivid Silva (BRA) 8.80
HEAT 2: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.34 DEF. Jordy Smith (RSA) 11.50
HEAT 3: Jackson Bunch (HAW) 15.73 DEF. Griffin Colapinto (USA) 10.17
HEAT 4: Rio Waida (INA) 13.90 DEF. Connor O’Leary (JPN) 13.33
HEAT 5: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 15.17 DEF. Mateus Herdy (BRA) 12.60
HEAT 6: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 15.77 DEF. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 12.60
HEAT 7: Jack Robinson (AUS) 13.83 DEF. Liam O’Brien (AUS) 13.00
HEAT 8: Yago Dora (BRA) 13.67 DEF. Joel Vaughan (AUS) 12.67
Surf Abu Dhabi Pro Men’s Quarterfinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Ethan Ewing (AUS) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 2: Jackson Bunch (HAW) vs. Rio Waida (INA)
HEAT 3: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)
HEAT 4: Jack Robinson (AUS) vs. Yago Dora (BRA)
