Surfing
Surfing
In 2025, the WSL Championship Tour promises to be the best one yet
Find out where the world's best surfers will be battling it out for the Championship Tour crown with this breakdown of the World Surf League's top tier schedule.
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The World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour is the pinnacle of professional surfing, showcasing the sports best athletes at a range of exotic venues around the globe. If you're eager to catch these incredible competitions live then buckle up, here's the breakdown of the recently announced 2025 WSL Championship Tour schedule.
Highlights of the 2025 season include the WSL Finals moving from California to Fiji, the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro bringing back the iconic wave of Snapper Rocks, as well as Lower Trestles in California and Jeffreys Bay in South Africa returning to the schedule, and the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro, the WSL's latest wave pool event, making its Championship Tour debut.
The 2025 WSL Championship Tour schedule
Event
Date
Destination
January 27–February 8
Banzai Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii
February 14-16
Hudayriat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE
March 15-25
Supertubos, Peniche, Portugal
April 2-12
Punta Roca, La Libertad, El Salvador
April 18-28
Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia
May 3-13
Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia
May 17-27
Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia
June 9-17
Lower Trestles, California, United States
June 21-29
Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
July 11-20
Jeffreys Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa
August 7-16
Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia
August 27–September 4
Cloudbreak, Tavarua, Fiji
01
Event 1: Lexus Pipe Pro – January 27-February 8, Oahu, Hawaii
Kelly Slater in front of a full house at Pipeline
© ASP/Kirstin
Hawaii's Banzai Pipeline, on the notorious North Shore of Oahu, is the most famed and feared wave in the world. This legendary stretch of coastline – nicknamed the Seven Mile Miracle – is known to surfers as the Proving Ground, thanks to its life threatening waves and ability to make or break reputations.
I love it. I think the locals see the time I put in outside of the contest, and they really respect that. I’ll spend weeks at a time at the Volcom Pipe House surfing on the North Shore, soaking up the energy of the islands
4 min
The Addiction of Pipeline
Pipeline. Surfing’s spiritual home. Not the first wave ever surfed, but the first wave ever feared.
Pipeline is the jewel in the North Shore's crown. Kelly Slater, John John Florence, Jack Robinson and Caity Simmers are a handful of Championship Tour surfers who've tasted success at Pipeline in recent years, while in the 2024 edition, Molly Picklum locked in the first-ever female perfect 10 at Pipeline on a landmark day for women's surfing.
02
Event 2: Surf Abu Dhabi Pro – February 14-16, Hudayriat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Catilin Simmers in action at the WSL Surf Ranch
© Jeremiah Klein/Red Bull Content Pool
While 2025 sees the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro make its debut on the Championship Tour calendar, it's not a stretch to say we've seen this event before, as the Surf Abu Dhabi basin features the same Kelly Slater Wave Co technology that powers California's Wave Ranch, home to four previous CT events.
17 min
Surf Ranch Pro 2019
Journey to San Clemente, one of the top surf locations, before the upcoming competition in Lemoore.
While the healthy debate rages around surfing competitions taking place away from the ocean, Surf Abu Dhabi offers some compromise, given it is the first saltwater wave pool. There can be no argument as to the consistency of the conditions on offer, and the results back this up – of the four Championship Tour events run in a KSWC pool, Carissa Moore and Gabriel Medina have won two each, while Griffin Colapinto added his name to the honour roll alongside Moore in the last outing. Who'll rule the pool in 2025? Stay tuned and find out in February!
03
Event 3: MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal – March 15-25, Peniche, Portugal
Supertubos does its thing
© ASP/Kirstin
On its day, Supertubos, also known as the Portuguese Pipeline, is one of the world's best beach breaks, with tubes as wide as they are high broadsiding the tiny fishing town of Peniche and huge crowds packing the sand whenever the contest is given the green light to run.
2 min
Watch the best sessions from Supertubos
Tiago Pires leads the pack at Portugal's best beachbreak barrels.
The Championship Tour first came to Portugal in 2009, for the Rip Curl Pro Search, a competition held in a new location every year. The event was so successful, won by Kelly Slater in firing waves, that little convincing was needed to add it to the full-time schedule.
In 2023 João Chianca and Caity Simmers claimed their first ever CT victories at Supertubos, while Griffin Colapinto took out the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal for the second time in 2024.
04
Event 4: Surf City El Salvador Pro – April 2-12, Punta Roca, La Libertad, El Salvador
Punta Roca – firing in the blazing heat
© World Surf League
A relatively new addition to the Championship Tour, the Surf City El Salvador Pro not only features one of the most rippable rights on the roster in Punta Roca, it is fast becoming a tour favourite, with tropical waves found the length of the El Salvadoran coastline.
Griffin Colapinto hoisted the trophy at the event's first outing in 2022, while Caroline Marks secured back-to-back victories in 2023 and 2024 to stamp herself as the Queen Of Central America.
05
Event 5: Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach – April 18-28, Torquay, Victoria, Australia
Bells Beach, still perfect
© Trevor Moran
The longest-running surfing competition in the world, the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, has been held in the small Australian town of Torquay every Easter since 1962, and the honour roll on the staircase lists every legend of the sport. Mick Fanning, Kelly Slater and Mark Richards have all rung the trophy Bell four times, Carissa Moore thrice, while Gail Couper has taken home an incredible and never-to-be-beaten 10 women's trophies!
3 min
No Contest Bells Beach Episode 1
The world's best surfers have left Queensland for the cooler climes of Bells Beach in Victoria.
Italo Ferreira celebrated his maiden CT win at Bells in 2018 by inking a tattoo of a koala ringing a Bell onto his bicep. While Caity Simmers didn't do the same after her first Bells victory in 2024, lifting surfing's most famous trophy was the result that kickstarted a maiden world title run!
06
Event 6: Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro – May 3-13, Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia
The Gold Coast's theatre of dreams
© Andrew Shield
When the WSL announced the 2025 Championship Tour lineup, surf fans around the world rejoiced when they saw the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro bringing the legendary Snapper Rocks back to the schedule. A fixture since the 1990s, Snapper was for a long time the season opener, the Gold Coast's warm water tubes and throbbing beaches fitting the bill perfectly and kickstarting world title campaigns for everyone from Kelly Slater to Mick Fanning, and Carissa Moore to Stephanie Gilmore.
13 min
No Contest – Gold Coast 2018
No Contest is back! Come check out our latest behind-the-scenes look at surfing's major league season opener right here, right now!
Snapper Rocks moved to the Challenger Series in 2021, but Australia's funnest wave will return to the top tier as the middle leg of a three-event run Down Under in 2025, much to the delight of the latest crop of CT talent.
07
Event 7: Western Australia Margaret River Pro – May 17-27, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia
Kanoa Igarashi flashes his trademark red blade at Margaret River
© Trevor Moran
"The West is best" has long been said about the waves of the Margaret River region, and local hero Jack Robinson would be the first to confirm after winning his hometown event, held over the limestone reef of Margaret River's Mainbreak, twice.
3 min
No Contest - West Australia Episode 3
The waves keep on pumping as West Oz delivers for the world’s finest surfers.
As well as running at Mainbreak the Western Australia Margaret River Pro can also be held across the bay at infamous slab The Box, or even further afield at the legendary freight train barrels of North Point. Michel Bourez claimed his first CT at Margaret River in 2015, while Carissa Moore has her name engraved on the beach staircase's honour roll three times.
08
Event 8: Trestles Pro – June 9-17, Lower Trestles, California, United States
SoCal's favourite playground
© Peter Taras
Lower Trestles, in San Clemente, California, has long been dubbed "surfing's skatepark" in honour of its perfect peaks: waves that pack enough punch to encourage progressive manoeuvres while offering little risk should things go awry. Griffin Colapinto and Kolohe Andino are two local heroes around these parts but Kelly Slater is king, having claimed victory at Lowers six times.
19 min
WSL Finals week at Lowers
Go behind the scenes as the world’s best surfers prepare for the 2021 Rip Curl WSL Finals at Lower Trestles.
Carissa Moore, Stephanie Gilmore and Tyler Wright all won the event in world title seasons, foreshadowing the announcement of Lower Trestles as the home of the WSL Finals, a one-day surf-off to determine the world champion, from 2021 to 2024.
In 2024, John John Florence was crowned world champ for the third time, while Californian prodigy Caitlin Simmers claimed her first-ever world title just 20 minutes from her hometown of Oceanside.
09
Event 9: VIVO Rio Pro – June 21-29, Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
João Chianca is a young gun who shone on the day of days at his local
© Felipe Azevedo
There is nowhere on quite a tour like Saquarema, Brazil, as the No Contest crew detailed beautifully while hanging and surfing with legendary local brothers João and Lucas Chianca. While competition is held most regularly in the beach break peaks of Itaúna, on rare occasions, the dredging righthand barrel of Barrinha roars to life at the western end of the beach, raining high scores and spectacular wipeouts on the field.
19 min
Rio Pro 2019
Join host Ashton Goggins as he takes you on a whistle-stop tour of the city ahead of the Rio Pro.
The men's honour roll is a largely Brazilian affair, while Caity Simmers and Carissa Moore have both enjoyed Rio success in recent years in front of enormous, electric crowds.
10
Event 10: J-Bay Open – July 11-20, Jeffreys Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Jeffreys Bay in all its glory
© Roy Harley/ASP
South Africa's Jeffreys Bay is arguably the planet's greatest pointbreak, serving up freight train tubes and long roping lines that are the dreams of every natural-footed surfer in the world, and most of the goofy-footers too.
19 min
Surfing at J-Bay 2019
At J-Bay, South Africa, visiting and local pros feast on several days' worth of flawless walls.
From world champions like Tom Curren and Mick Fanning to hometown heroes like Jordy Smith, a long list of surfing icons have carved their names on J-Bay's walls, and the J-Bay Pro has long been a popular fixture with both surfers and spectators alike. After a brief hiatus on the sidelines, Africa's most famous wave returns to the Championship Tour in 2025, in a widely welcomed move.
11
Event 11: Tahiti Pro – August 7-16, Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Italo Ferreira, ice cold in a blown glass cylinder
© Matt Dunbar/World Surf League
Teahupo'o, in Tahiti, might just be the most ferocious wave in the world. Won in 2024 by Italo Ferreira, and dominated in competitions past by Kelly Slater, Gabriel Medina, Jack Robinson and John John Florence, "The Wall Of Skulls" serves up the most picture perfect yet deadly tubes on the planet.
The women's tour rejoined the ranks at the End Of The Road in 2022, and while local standout Vahine Fierro has the wave dialled, winning the last event in 2024, Caroline Marks put her maiden world title campaign on track by taking out the 2023 Tahiti Pro.
24 min
Tahiti
Michel Bourez and Kauli Vaast take you on a tour of beautiful islands of Tahiti.
In 2024 Teahupo'o was also the Olympic venue for the Paris games, with Marks and Kauli Vaast tasting once-in-a-lifetime glory on the sporting world's greatest stage.
12
WSL Finals – August 27-September 4, Tavarua, Fiji
João Chianca hits the breaks and lets a Fijian freighttrain fly by
© Chris Peel
The most welcome WSL news in a long time was the announcement that the Fiji Pro would be returning to the CT calendar in 2024 after a seven-year absence. Cloudbreak, a wave as perfect at three feet as it is at 30, has been won by Kelly Slater on four occasions, while Sally Fitzgibbons claimed back-to-back victories in 2014 and 2015.
5 min
Down the Line – Jack Robinson
Jack Robinson talks us through an incredible first-ever mission to Fiji.
Griffin Colapinto and event wildcard Erin Brooks took home the trophies in their first Fijian outings in 2024 before it was revealed that the 2025 WSL Finals are being moved to Cloudbreak. This huge announcement turns recent world title thinking on its head, and, after a four-year run in the high-performance peaks of Lower Trestles, puts tube riding maestros like Griffin Colapinto, João Chianca, Jack Robinson, Caity Simmers, Molly Picklum and rookie Erin Brooks squarely in the world title picture.
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