Rio Waida is a trailblazing professional surfer who has made history as Indonesia’s first Olympic surfer, representing the nation at both the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games. Born in Saitama, Japan, in 2000 and raised in Bali from age five, Waida developed his surfing skills on the iconic waves of Jimbaran, Kuta, and Uluwatu. Check out this sweet edit of Rio blazing through Uluwatu, Keramas and Canggu.

Kelly Slater isn’t just a surfing legend—he’s a phenomenon. With 11 world titles under his belt and countless competitive victories, his dominance in the sport spans over three decades. But what truly sets Slater apart isn’t just the number of trophies—it’s his longevity, innovation, and sheer athleticism.

Even in his 50s, Slater continues to defy age and expectation. His movements remain fluid, calculated, and almost otherworldly—a testament to both his physical discipline and connection with the ocean. With a Wildcard for Lower Trestles, let’s see what a 53 year-old Kelly has in his bag of tricks.

Raging Bull There is only one Mark Occhilupo. Only one Raging Bull. A global surfing icon who captures the essence of stoke in every loveable moment.

In every wave ridden. In every rock that trips him up while he walks to check the waves. His story of course, is rock star stuff. The child prodigy who setthe world on fire. The lost years. The Comeback and the World Title. The movies. The laughs. The mind-boggling sessions all over the planet. The unrestrained power. Occy, the eternal grom remains as relevant now as he has ever been, because he reminds us just how fun it is and how blessed we are to do what we do in the arms of MotherNature.No surprise then that Occy speaks fluent ocean. Always has. Always will. And nowhere is that conversation clearer than in the deep-seapower of Bells Beach and Cloudbreak reef. Waves that moulded him. Waves that made him a legend. The Curren heat at Bells in 86, the Litmus years punctuated with the Skins and the CT victory-the best backhand surfing seen in the bowl to this day and maybe forever more. And the offshore Fijian reef that thunders just afew Kays off his second home-the smallPacific Island of Namotu. A place where his surfing becomes poetry. Yeah,he won the comp there too on the way to the World Crown, but there’s more at play at here. Something spiritual. Something connected. We’ll get to that.Let’s start with Bells. A cosmic union of man and continental shelf.

A fair question: where does one begin and the other end? Perhaps they’re one and the same as air, earth and water are heart, brain and soul.“I jelled with Bells at a really young age,” says Occ. “One afternoon, one session it all clicked, I remember thinking, ‘Far out, that’s as good as I can surf!’ The waves were all-time,and I just wanted to keep that feeling forever. I hit a level of surfing that I never wanted to lose. Every time I go back there,I try to find that again because it feels so natural. When I come back it’s a homecoming.”Pure magic from a man embedded in folklore of Djaraak, Wadawurrung Traditional Landowners.“When I’m way behind the bowl all I’m thinking is I want to get that first bottom turn off… Once I’ve finished that bottom turn, if I can get to that first big turn and nail it… it’s butterflies. It’s magic from then on.”That’s the very essence of Occy and Bells right there. And then there’s Cloudbreak. “Cloudbreak is so special. Big open faces it gives you tubes and turns. It suits my surfing and has done since day one.”And as with Bells, Occy connects with Fiji on a much more primal plane. “There’s so much surfing to be done before you even get in the water, “he says. “I watch the sky, I feel the wind, I seethe texture on the water… Watching the sunrise, doing yoga. It’s all part of how you communicate with the land and sea and sky before you paddle out.”“The spirituality of it is real for me. I get chicken skin just saying that because I think the ocean is a living, breathing and it knows me. When I’m surfing, I’m definitely not thinking and I’m definitely not pushing against the ocean…I’m going to groove with the wave and only allow what I can feel is in synchronicity with that moment.”Power. Precision. Presence. Raw feelings. From Bells to Cloudbreak the Bull is clearly at home.

Gabriela Bryan (HAW) and Jordy Smith (RSA) won the Western Australia Margaret River Pro, Stop No. 7 on the 2025 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT). It was a shorter Finals Day, featuring the Semifinals and Finals in slower conditions at Main Break, but still delivered standout moments and performances from the finalists. Bryan earned back-to-back wins at Margaret River with a commanding showing, marking her second event win of the season. Smith also secured his second victory of the year. This is a repeat podium for Bryan and Smith, as they both claimed victory in El Salvador earlier this year. As the only two surfers with two victories this season, their success further solidifies their positions on top of the rankings as the CT heads to Lower Trestles in San Clemente, Calif. 

Gabriela Bryan Goes Back-to-Back at Margaret River, Earns Second CT Win of the Season To Stay World No. 1

Gabriela Bryan (HAW) made it back-to-back victories at the event that she has come to define in the modern era. The 23-year-old competed in her first CT Final in Margaret River in 2022, doing exactly what she needed to keep herself on Tour and earn the Rookie of the Year title that season. Bryan then earned her first-ever CT event win at the location in 2024, before now backing it up a year later. Having been at risk of the Mid-season Cut in each previous showing, Bryan currently sits in a very different position. In 2025, Bryan returned to Western Australia wearing the Yellow Leader Jersey, largely thanks to her win in El Salvador. Bryan will now retain her status as World No. 1 headed into Stop No. 8, the Lexus Trestles Pro, after her third CT victory today.

“It’s incredible, I mean, I tried not to think about going back-to-back, but how cool it would have been to see my name twice on the stairs, one after the other,” Bryan said. “So yeah, it’s a really cool accomplishment. I don’t feel like [the World No. 1]. I am, but yeah, yellow, wow. I try to just tell myself it’s red, but I’m getting used to it. Every heat I have with it I get more comfortable. I thought I lost it over at Burleigh and then to come back with a win and now to wear it at Lowers. I can’t wait to compete there, I haven’t competed there since I was a junior.”

Since sharing their first major Final together in the 2021 US Open of Surfing, the pure power of Bryan and the style and flow of Caity Simmers (USA) have been distinct contrasts. Though Simmers’ career has taken a steeper trajectory since winning that event, Bryan went on to win the Challenger Series that year. More than ever, the 2025 season is highlighting the fact that the two are defining modern-day performance in surfing – to the point that for two events running, the pair have been sitting with equal points in the rankings. In a battle for who would break ahead of their deadlock, Bryan opened with a near-perfect 9.50, the highest single-wave score of her career. Earning the score through a series of four full-power gouges, Bryan quickly backed it up with a 7.83, to leave Simmers, the reigning World Champion, in need of a combination of two high-scoring waves to take the lead. Though Simmers had opened up with a 7.17 of her own, the 19-year-old was unable to crack into the elevated range of Bryan, who had also earned an excellent 16.34 heat total in her Semifinal defeat of Lakey Peterson (USA).

“I’m honestly speechless, I don’t even know what to think,” Bryan said. “That 9.50 was just the wave. I turned around and that thing just came right at me. I saw the wave and it had a perfect line. I just kind of went out there, like just got to surf my heart out, and that’s what I did on that wave. And then I was lucky enough to get a backup before it went flat. So yeah, I’m so stoked.”

Reigning World Champion Caity Simmers Returns to the Podium in Margaret River

Caity Simmers (USA) returned to the podium for the first time since winning the second event of the season, the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro, to appear in her third Final this year. After a strong start in 2025, Simmers had been unable to break out of the Round of 16 in Australia but returned to form in Margaret River. Simmers defeated a series of solid performers, including Brisa Hennessy(CRC), Luana Silva (BRA), and Bronte Macaulay (AUS) to make her first Margaret River Pro Final with the fast, stylish rail work that has come to be expected of the 2024 World Champion.

“It was just cool that we got a couple waves in that heat, because it was pretty inconsistent, and there actually ended up being waves in our heat,” Simmers said. “But yeah, I think we have two different styles of surfing, and we both can get good scores from it. That’s the beauty of surfing, there’s not a straightforward way to do it. And [Gabriela Bryan] just won fair and square, there was no other way to put it. But yeah, it’s really fun to watch. I had a perfect view of both of her waves. After I got my waves, I just turned around, and she’s getting the 9.50, and then her next wave, too. I literally watched both of them from paddling out, and I was just like, well, whatever.”

Jordy Smith Furthers World Title Campaign with WA Victory, Leads Men’s CT Field Heading Into Lowers 

Competing in his 18th season on Tour, Jordy Smith (RSA) has claimed a second CT win within the same season for the first time of his long tenure. Since winning his first CT in eight years in El Salvador, the 37-year-old has continued his exceptional form to now sit with a strong lead in the rankings as World No. 1. Having previously placed runner-up to the World Title in 2010 and 2016, Smith has been in the Title conversation for much of his career, and now sits in the prime position to deliver on that promise. Smith has previously won three of the four remaining regular-season events. Two of those he has won twice, both in locations that he has called home, Trestles and J-Bay.

“It feels incredible, I think it’s just a testament to like, every day keep showing up, trusting what you’re doing,” Smith said. “I can’t just say that I’ve been doing all the work, I’ve got such a great team of people behind me. For me, this year, it’s just really been about have fun and enjoy this because it’s not forever. I think everyone’s going to be fighting for that top five now, there’s a lot of guys that are swinging for it, so that’s going to be really exciting. And I think just having that opportunity to kind of push yourself against all the best in the world is all I’m really looking for, and yeah, take every day for what it is and don’t think too far down the line.”

After moving through an extremely wide range of conditions, from huge, unruly Main Break, to slab perfection at The Box, the men’s Final was decided in small, inconsistent surf that saw only three waves ridden. With two previous Margaret River Pro runners-up, Smith and Griffin Colapinto (USA), battling for their first event win, a fiery exchange was expected, but quite the opposite took place. Smith opened with the single defining wave of the Final, an 8.50, earned through a variety of maneuvers, echoing the type of surfing the South African had delivered throughout the event, and across his long career. Meanwhile, after opening early with a 4.83, Colapinto dropped anchor, waiting for a wave that never arrived, and closed his account with just a single score.

“I’m so stoked bru,” Smith said. “It’s been a lot this week, a lot this last two or three months. Two people I want to dedicate it to, obviously my family first and foremost: my wife, my mother, my father, my sister, and my two sons. And then, this is for Jack McCoy. He passed away just recently. It’s someone that’s inspired me throughout my whole life. All his movies, his videos, his family. This is for you guys. I’m sending all my love and prayers are with you guys.”

Griffin Colapinto Vaults Back up CT Rankings with First Final of 2025 Season 

Griffin Colapinto (USA) again proved himself to be one of the most consistent surfers in Western Australia. The 26-year-old has made at least Quarterfinals every season in the event since 2021, finishing runner-up for the first time in 2023. Entering the GWM Aussie Treble ranked 26th and in danger of the Mid-season Cut, Colapinto rose 15 places across the three events to now sit at No. 11, one place outside of the Top 10, after making his first Final of the season. Colapinto delivered a highlight reel of performances throughout the event, including a Perfect 10 for one of the most impressive full rotation air reverses delivered in competition and a 9.00 for a mind-blowing exit from a Box barrel. The Californian will now return home to San Clemente for Stop No. 8, his first chance to compete in a regular-season CT event at his home break of Lower Trestles.

“When we got in the water, I was having flashbacks to when I was, I must have been like 13 or 14 up at like 1am watching [Jordy Smith] win J-Bay,” Colapinto said. “And I was staying up watching him win that, and then Modern Collective, and that being like my favorite movie ever. And then to us in a Final together is just a cool chain of events, you know, over time. So yeah, super grateful and psyched to see Jordy back on top and doing his thing again. Guy’s one of my favorite surfers. Coming into this event, I was a little bit nervous about the Cut. Both my brother and I were on the bubble. So to get past that, it just feels like we’re playing with house money and the weight’s off our shoulders. I’m so excited to be going home and feeling that way.”

In a repeat of the 2024 MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, the Colapinto brothers missed out on a shared Final by one heat. In both events, the brothers, Griffin and Crosby Colapinto (USA), moved through the event on opposite sides of the draw all the way to the Semifinals, before the younger brother, Crosby, was eliminated and the older, Griffin, progressed into the Final.

Bronte Macaulay Earns Excellent Third-Place Result in Wildcard Run 

The two standout surfers from the women’s Quarterfinals, Bronte Macaulay(AUS) and Lakey Peterson (USA), were unable to tap into the same rhythm that saw them post some of the highest numbers of the previous round. The strong showing in the event for Macaulay was a fitting finish to the career of the local Wildcard and former CT veteran, who had stated that this would likely be her last time in the competition jersey at the CT level. Currently studying to be a teacher, Macaulay is now pouring her energy into coaching the next generation of women from Western Australia.

Isabella Nichols and Jordy Smith Win Inaugural GWM Aussie Treble

The GWM Aussie Treble culminated at the Western Australia Margaret River Pro after moving through two other Australian states with the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach and Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro. The inaugural trophies were handed to Isabella Nichols (AUS) and Jordy Smith (RSA), along with keys to a brand new GWM Tank 300, as the winners of the series that collected points from across the three events.

“Winning an event in Australia, let alone winning the Treble, is super, super special,” Nichols said. “I couldn’t have done it without everyone here supporting me. I want to dedicate this win to my sister, the newlyweds, Helena and George. Also, thanks to my family for being here, Mike McAuliffe for housing us, Kurt [Jacobs], Bottle [Jay Thompson], everyone who’s been in my corner. I couldn’t have done this without everyone’s support. And also everyone here in W.A., thanks for the love. We always love coming here. Thanks for hosting such an incredible event.”

For more information and highlights from the 2025 Western Australia Margaret River Pro, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com. 

Championship Tour Requalification and Relegation

The Western Australia Margaret River Pro marks the final stop before the Mid-season Cut, a pivotal moment in the 2025 CT season where the field is reduced for the back half of the Tour and crucial to determine 2026 CT requalification. Following this event, only the top 22 men and top 10 women on the CT rankings will advance to the next four events, earning their place at iconic venues like J-Bay and Teahupoʻo. For those who make the Cut, it’s a major step toward World Title contention and the WSL Finals in Fiji. For others, it’s the end of their CT run for 2025 and the start of the battle to requalify for 2026 through the Challenger Series.
The 2025 Challenger Series will begin in Newcastle, Australia on June 2, 2025, and hold a competition window through June 8.

View the 2025 Challenger Series schedule. 

Women’s 

Made the Cut: 

– Gabriela Bryan (HAW)

– Caity Simmers (USA)

– Molly Picklum (AUS)

– Isabella Nichols (AUS) 

– Tyler Wright (AUS) 

– Caroline Marks (USA)

– Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) 

– Luana Silva (BRA)

– Lakey Peterson (USA)

– Erin Brooks (CAN)

Missed the Cut (Will Not Continue to 2025 CT Backhalf, Qualified for 2026 CT): 

– Sawyer Lindblad (USA) 

– Vahine Fierro (FRA)

– Bella Kenworthy (USA)

– Brisa Hennessy (CRC)

Relegated to the Challenger Series:

– Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)

– Johanne Defay (FRA) 

– Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 

– Nadia Erostarbe (ESP) 

Men’s 

Made the Cut:

– Jordy Smith (RSA) 

– Italo Ferreira (BRA) 

– Yago Dora (BRA) 

– Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)

– Barron Mamiya (HAW) 

– Ethan Ewing (AUS) 

– Filipe Toledo (BRA) 

– Jack Robinson (AUS)

– Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)

– Miguel Pupo (BRA) 

– Griffin Colapinto (USA) 

– Jake Marshall (USA) 

– Rio Waida (INA) 

– Connor O’Leary (JPN) 

– Marco Mignot (FRA) 

– Crosby Colapinto (USA) 

– Alan Cleland (MEX) 

– Joao Chianca (BRA) 

– Joel Vaughan (AUS)  

– Seth Moniz (HAW) 

– Cole Houshmand (USA) 

– Alejo Muniz (BRA) 

Missed the Cut/Relegated to Challenger Series: 

– Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 

– Liam O’Brien (AUS) 

– Jackson Bunch (HAW) 

– George Pittar (AUS) 

– Ian Gouveia (BRA) 

– Samuel Pupo (BRA) 

– Imaikalani deVault (HAW)

– Deivid Silva (BRA) 

– Ian Gentil (HAW) 

– Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 

– Edgard Groggia (BRA) 

– Ryan Callinan (AUS) 

– Gabriel Medina (BRA) – Awarded 2026 WSL Season Wildcard 

For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.