2021 world champions to be decided at Lower Trestles at innovative new Rip Curl WSL Finals
For the first time in the history of professional surfing, the 2021 world title will be decided in a single day of action called the Rip Curl WSL Finals—and it’s all going down at Lower Trestles.
Based on their end-of-season rankings, the top five men and women on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour have made the cut and will have a shot at the title.
The No. 1 seeds include four-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Carissa Moore from Hawaii and two-time world champion Gabriel Medina, who hails from Brazil.
For the women, rounding out this inaugural class will be seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore, Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb, Australia’s Sally Fitzgibbons and France’s Johanne Defay.
And for the gentlemen, 2019 world champ Italo Ferreira, coming off an Olympic gold medal, will be looking to defend his title (there was no world champion crowned in 2020 due to the pandemic). He’ll be joined by Brazilian countryman and San Clemente resident Filipe Toledo, California’s Conner Coffin and Australian rookie sensation Morgan Cibilic.

The pressure couldn’t be higher nor the stakes greater for this one-day, winner-take-all showdown.
For decades, Lower Trestles has been considered one of the world’s most high-performance waves, and with its perfect left and right A-frame peak, it’s an ideal location for Moore, Medina and the best surfers on the planet to throw down.
Everyone should get ready, because Rip Curl WSL Finals’ new format and a new vision of how surfing’s world champions are crowned will be showcased right here in our backyard on one day in a competitive window spanning from Sept. 9-17.
To learn more about the competition, its history and this year’s competitors, check out Picket Fence Media’s WSL Finals Event Guide by clicking here.
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