Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing will both be out to put a run of near misses behind them and at the same time break Australia’s 11-year men’s surfing title drought when the World Surf League finals competition window opens on Friday.
The pair finished in the top five in the WSL rankings to book their ticket to the winner-takes-all, one-day showdown in California, while hopes will also rest with their compatriot Molly Picklum in the women’s final.
Robinson carries strong form into the finals after claiming a silver medal in the 2024 Olympic Games surfing event at Teahupo’o in Tahiti, when he was left stranded as the fearsome wave went unusually quiet in the decider, then following up with a third-place finish at the Fiji Pro.
The 26-year-old hung on to third spot in the WSL rankings after victories at Sunset Beach and Margaret River, to return to the final at Lower Trestles for the third year in a row and another shot at a breakthrough world championship.
“I need to be a world champion because it’s just the ultimate feeling,” Robinson told World Surf League. “And I will be, one day. I just live for those moments, when someone else is trying to battle me.”
The WSL finals format includes a series of knockout bouts held across one day, starting with the No 4 and No 5 seeds based on the end-of-season rankings. The winner of the opening heat will face the No 3 seed in another knockout and so on until the last two surfers left standing meet in a best-of-three decider.
Robinson failed to reach the final stage when the No 2 seed in 2022 and was eliminated in the opening heat last year but this time will be waiting in the second round for a clash with fourth-seeded Ewing or Brazilian Italo Ferreira.
Griffin Colapinto finished one spot above Robinson in the WSL rankings after taking out what proved to be a high-stakes semi-final between the pair in the Fiji Pro last month – an event the American went on to win. The two-time world champion John John Florence is locked in for the title match in his first appearance in the WSL finals since the format was introduced in 2021.
Ewing beat João Chianca and Colapinto in the finals last year to make a charge from third spot to the best-of-three decider, before falling short against Filipe Toledo as the Brazilian clinched back-to-back titles.
But the Queenslander was underdone last year after sustaining multiple vertebrae fractures in a wipe-out in Tahiti just weeks out from the WSL finals, and will head to California with a clearer mind this time around.
“Last year I didn’t have much time to prepare, I was pretty sore and stiff and didn’t really have surf fitness because I was out of the water for that time,” Ewing told Australian Associated Press. “This year I’ve been competing all year and am feeling really good.
“I feel really excited … at the start of the season, I was kind of struggling mentally, and I feel like I’ve gotten better throughout the year and I’m just in a really good headspace right now.”
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Brazilians have claimed all but two of the men’s world crowns – with Hawaiian Florence going back-to-back in 2016-17 – since Australia’s Mick Fanning won the last of his three titles in 2013.
While the South American nation has wrestled the mantle from Australia and the USA to become the powerhouse of men’s surfing, the 2019 champion Ferreira is the only Brazilian in the men’s finals this year. Yago Dora and the three-time winner Gabriel Medina finished just outside the top five, while Toledo has taken a break from the tour.
The men’s field looks wide open especially with Toledo absent and, while Robinson is arguably better suited to the more powerful waves served up at breaks like Teahupo’o, Ewing is confident he can make the most of the last WSL finals to be held at Lower Trestles before the event moves to Cloudbreak in Fiji.
“I really like surfing the wave and I’d say it fits my surfing pretty well,” Ewing said. “It’s a pretty high-performance wave, and everyone’s really good at this level, so it kind of suits everyone but I really enjoy it. I just need to put on a better performance than last year and try and go one better.”
Australia have had more success of late on the women’s tour, with Stephanie Gilmour winning eight world titles since 2007, including her last in 2022 before stepping away from competition this year.
Picklum was bundled out of the WSL finals in the opening round last year, after being ranked fourth but losing to Caitlin Simmers, as the American Caroline Marks claimed the women’s crown.
The 21-year-old Australian made a scorching start to this season with a perfect 10 wave in a semi-final at the Pipe Pro on the way to finishing second overall, followed by a victory at Sunset Beach. Picklum rounded out the regular season with a third in Fiji to again start the WSL finals as the No 4 seed.
She will kick off the women’s finals against Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb, with the winner going on to face Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy. Marks, the Olympic Games gold medallist, is ranked second this year, with her compatriot Simmers locked into the winner-takes-all final as the No 1 seed.
World Surf League 2024 finalists
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Men’s: John John Florence, Griffin Colapinto, Jack Robinson, Ethan Ewing, Italo Ferreira
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Women’s: Caitlin Simmers, Caroline Marks, Brisa Hennessy, Molly Picklum, Tatiana Weston-Webb
