A compelling start to the season in Hawaii was followed up by an event which saw Supertubos provide some of the most super of tubes we’ve seen in recent times, and the near-month long hiatus which has ensued has provided the surfing world with a chance to catch its collective breath after a hectic few weeks. The tour is set to return with a bang, however, when we head to Torquay for the first Rip Curl Pro at Bells since 2019. This is arguably the most iconic event on the schedule, and for many pro surfers, ringing the famous bell upon securing victory there is among the top items on their bucket list. With the first ever mid-season cut set to take place after just two more events, this year’s edition of the Rip Curl Pro at Bells is more important than ever, so let’s take a look at how the women’s version of the event is shaping up.
The Favourites
As with most events for the past couple of years, it’s Carissa Moore who will head in as favourite to take out this contest. The five-time world champion has been a virtual lock in the final four of every event since about 2019, and though her incredible run of semi-final appearances ended when she finished 9th at Sunset Beach, normal transmission resumed with a 3rd place finish at Supertubos. She finds herself sitting in a tie for second behind only Brisa Hennessy, and will be intending to snatch back that yellow jersey somewhere she has already won on four occasions. The first of those wins came in 2013 and the most recent in 2019, which was incidentally the last time this event was held, so she has the form both this season and at past incarnations of this event, and is the deserved favourite this time around.
One of her main competitors might be the most deserving surfer never to have rung the bell in Tyler Wright. Wright has an extremely good record at the Rip Curl Pro, having made at least the quarter-finals all seven times she has competed there. Two of those times she’s been defeated in the semi-finals, while another two she has made it through to the final only to fall at the last hurdle. The two-time world champion and winner of 14 World Tour events seems destined to win at Bells eventually, and this could well be the year. She appears to be finally back on the road to a top five finish after a trying couple of years, and after a start to the season which has included a 3rd and a 5th place finish, she is a great chance of victory at this event.
Rounding out the list of favourites is Lakey Peterson, who enters the event off the back of an impressive runner-up finish at Supertubos. That followed on from a 3rd at Pipeline in a start to the year which sees her sitting in a tie for second with Moore in the world rankings. The American hasn’t won here in the past, but she should know the wave well; her husband grew up surfing it and the two have spent plenty of time there, so while she might not technically be a local, she certainly has something of a home ground advantage. That aside, she’s also one of the best surfers in the world and enters the contest in good form, so expect her to be there at the business end.
The Next Tier
Tatiana Weston-Webb returned to form in earnest at Supertubos, surfing her way to victory and 10,000 world rankings points after a slow start to the season in Hawaii. Last year’s runner-up has had mixed results at Bells in the past; in five contests there, she’s finished in 9th place on three occasions, but mixed in among those results is a 3rd and 2nd place finish in 2016 and 2018 respectively. The powerful goofy footer surfs her backhand beautifully, and while Bells won’t give her the kind of steep, pitching lip that she surfs so well, she’ll still enjoy its long, drawn out walls. A win for her would be no surprise at all.
Another who has to be given some consideration as a potential winner at this event is Steph Gilmore. The seven-time world champion is past her best, but she’s still good enough to be competing for world titles, as she showed last year. This year started in disappointing fashion with a COVID-related withdrawal at Pipeline and then a 9th at Sunset, but she returned to form at Supertubos with a 3rd place finish and got herself within striking distance of the cut line in the process. Incidentally, she also happens to be one of the best ever surfers at Bells. She won the event in 2010 and 2018, while in between those victories she has managed another two finals and two semi-finals, and in nine attempts she’s never finished lower than 5th. If that form is anything to go by, the 34-year-old will be tough to beat.
Gilmore’s compatriot and long-time peer at the top of the world rankings, Sally Fitzgibbons is another dual winner at Bells – though the last of those victories came in 2012. That followed on from a win in 2011, and though she hasn’t rung the bell since, she did enjoy an ensuing run of results there that reads 5th, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 5th. This year hasn’t exactly started how she would have intended, with three consecutive 9th place finishes, and as a result she, like Gilmore, has a bit of work to do to leap into the top ten and advance through to the second half of the season. The 31-year-old will have no intention of remaining below that cut line, and with plenty to surf for and a consistent past record at Bells, she is a good chance to go deep into the contest.
The Roughie
For all of her talent and despite having surfed for many years on the Championship Tour, Malia Manuel has still never won an event at the top level, but perhaps Bells could be the contest at which that all changes. She’s collected a handful of 2nd place finishes along the way; one of those came this year at Sunset Beach, while another came the last time the Championship Tour headed to Bells, back in 2019. Those two factors suggest that she has both the current form and the requisite experience to challenge at this contest. Currently sitting in 5th place in the world rankings, the surfer many consider the most underrated in the world heads to Bells with plenty in her favour, and it’s not impossible to envision her springing a major surprise.
Our Tip
Thus far this season, our winners on the women’s side of the draw have been Moana Jones Wong, Brisa Hennessy and Tatiana Weston-Webb. Weston-Webb aside, anyone who claims to have got close to picking this trio as event winners is lying, and their success demonstrates the closeness of the competition as well as the fickle nature of professional surfing. The likes of Moore and Wright are extremely hard to go past, but given recent results now might be the time to go out on a limb. As mentioned, there is plenty to suggest that Manuel is within reach of her inaugural Tour win, and at long odds this might just be her moment.
