Jeffreys Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 18 July – Finals Day at Stop No 10 of 12 on the World Surf League (WSL) 2025 Championship Tour (CT), the Corona Cero Open J-Bay, is ON in solid six-to-eight foot surf that is expected to build throughout the day.
The race for the WSL Final 5 is heating up with the top eight women on the rankings still in contention in J-Bay.
The women’s Quarterfinals will get competition underway at 7:33 am GMT+1, before the competition moves into the men’s Quarterfinals, women’s Semifinals, men’s Semifinals, and women’s and men’s Finals. All heats will be 35 minutes. As the penultimate stop on the regular season, a place in the Lexus WSL Final 5 is on the line, adding more pressure for those on the cusp of making the cutoff.
| The women’s Quarterfinals will kick off with World No. 2 Gabriela Bryan (HAW) and two-time World Champion Tyler Wright (AUS). Heat 2 will see a classic goofy-versus-regular battle at Supertubes between 2023 World Champion Caroline Marks (USA) and 2024 World Champion Caity Simmers (USA). World No. 1 Molly Picklum (AUS) will face 2023 J-Bay winner Lakey Peterson (USA) in Heat 3 of the Quarterfinals, while World No. 4 Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) will face World No. 5 Isabella Nichols (AUS) in Heat 4. With Jordy Smith (RSA) and Italo Ferreira (BRA) out of the event, there will be a definite shift in the rankings, and a spot in the WSL Final 5 could be on the line. Yago Dora (BRA) will be in the first heat of the men’s Quarterfinals against an in-form Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA). Both Dora and Fioravanti have delivered some of the best performances of the event so far. World No. 3 Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) faces Griffin Colapinto (USA), who is currently ranked No. 6. Every heat matters, and Colapinto could cause a big upset and potentially move into the WSL Final 5. Rookie Marco Mignot (FRA) will face two-time World Champion Filipe Toledo (BRA) in Heat 3, and former event winner Ethan Ewing (AUS) will look to hold onto his position in the top five when he comes up against Connor O’Leary (JPN) who is surfing without any pressure on his shoulders to make the Final 5 cutoff. Watch the Corona Cero Open J-Bay LIVE at WorldSurfLeague.com. |
