The 2024 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) heads to the middle of the Pacific Ocean for Stop No. 6, the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro Presented by Outerknown. The perfection of Tahiti awaits the world’s best surfers during the competition window of May 22 through 31, 2024. They will no doubt be looking to prove themselves next week at Teahupo’o, as that break will also be the surfing venue for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 from July 27 through August 5, 2024.
Past the halfway point, with the drama of the Mid-Season Cut in the rearview, the 2024 CT season now shifts focus to the race for the WSL Final 5. Across the first five events of the CT, boundaries were broken, new records set, and the action did not stop. Now, with the bottom third of the Tour competing on the Challenger Series, the cream of the crop will be going all out at the world-renowned Teahupo’o in Tahiti to assert themselves as they compete for a spot in the WSL Finals that will take place in Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California.
Following the battles to climb the rankings in Western Australia, Caitlin Simmers (USA) and Griffin Colapinto (USA) maintain their World No. 1 positions as they head into Tahiti wearing the Yellow Leaders’ jerseys.
There are few places on earth that deliver the same kind of awe as Teahupo’o, the jewel in the crown of Tahiti’s numerous reef passes. The power and perfection of the giant barrels that unload on the extremely shallow reef are unmatched. For most of history, its waves were considered untouchable, but as surfing progressed, so did the ability of the world’s best surfers to not just survive the wave but master it.
In late July, the wider populace will be introduced to the phenomenon when the Olympic Games showcases this location, but for now, surf fans will be reminded of what they already know: there is no other place on earth like Teahupo’o. Some of the greatest battles in surf history have taken place here, and many more are yet to be written.
World Champions Kelly Slater and Carissa Moore Join the Draw as Wildcards Alongside Local Hero Vahiné Fierro
The event wildcards will include Kelly Slater (USA), 11-time World Champion with 56 CT event wins, five of which are from Teahupo’o, Tahiti (2000, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2016). Joining Slater as the event wildcards will be five-time World Champion Carissa Moore (HAW), who accepted the wildcard invitation earlier this year following the announcement of her indefinite break from full-time competition, and Vahiné Fierro (FRA), a 24-year-old Tahitian local, who’s had two back-to-back third-place finishes at the Tahiti Pro on the WSL CT. The second men’s wildcard will be allocated via the local Tahiti Trials competition, which will take place on May 18 and 19 at Teahupo’o, Tahiti.
For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro Presented by Outerknown Women’s Opening Round Matchups:
HEAT 1: Brisa Hennessy (CRC), Gabriela Bryan (HAW), Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA)
HEAT 2: Caitlin Simmers (USA), Tyler Wright (AUS), Vahine Fierro (FRA)
HEAT 3: Johanne Defay (FRA), Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW), Carissa Moore (HAW)
HEAT 4: Molly Picklum (AUS), Caroline Marks (USA), Sawyer Lindblad (USA)
SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro Presented by Outerknown Men’s Opening Round Matchups:
HEAT 1: Ethan Ewing (AUS), Seth Moniz (HAW), Connor O’Leary (JPN)
HEAT 2: John John Florence (HAW), Rio Waida (IDN), Yago Dora (BRA)
HEAT 3: Jack Robinson (AUS), Ramzi Boukhaim (MOR), Kelly Slater (USA)
HEAT 4: Griffin Colapinto (USA), Italo Ferreira (BRA), Trials Winner TBD
HEAT 5: Jordy Smith (RSA), Crosby Colapinto (USA), Matthew McGillvray (RSA)
HEAT 6: Jake Marshall (USA), Imaikalani deVault (HAW), Gabriel Medina (BRA)
HEAT 7: Barron Mamiya (HAW), Liam O’Brien (AUS), Ryan Callinan (AUS)
HEAT 8: Cole Houshmand (USA), Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Leonardo Fiorvanti (ITA)
For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com
