The WSL season is already nearing its midway point, with the fourth of ten events set to begin next week. And it’s a big one. The Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach is the longest running professional surfing tournament in the world, bringing the world’s best surfers together at one of the most recognised breaks on the planet. With the mid-season cut set to see one-third of the Championship Tour field sent packing after the next event at Margaret River, there’s plenty on the line at Bells. But before we get into that, a quick refresher on what went down at the last event at Supertubos.
The MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal
The third event of the season saw a few days of big swell hit the Portuguese coast, and at the conclusion of the event we had two first-time Championship Tour. On the men’s side, Joao Chianca earned a well-deserved maiden CT victory. Over the past couple of years his talent has been plain to see and he’s scored as well as just about anyone, but consistent tight losses in high-scoring heats have hampered his progress. Not so in Portugal. He was solid throughout but took things to another level in his last couple of heats, with a 17.10 in the semi to romp past Callum Robson and a 17.57 nudging out Jack Robinson in the final.
On the women’s side, it was the impressive Caitlin Simmers, in just her fourth Championship Tour event, getting the chocolates. She’s improved every CT event she’s surfed, going from 17th in her debut back in 2021, to ninth at Pipeline this year, fifth at Sunset Beach, and first at Supertubos. She handled the conditions with aplomb, with a 15.16 to beat out Caroline Marks in the Round of 16 a highlight, and a solid 13.50 to narrowly defeat the far more experienced Courtney Conlogue in the final.
The victories saw both winners jump up the rankings, as you’d expect. Chianca was already sitting in third, but went past fellow Brazilian Filipe Toledo and moved to within striking distance of Robinson. Simmers, meanwhile, jumped up a huge seven spots to a tie for second with Carissa Moore, narrowly behind Molly Picklum, who will wear the yellow jersey once again at Bells Beach. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how the Rip Curl Pro is shaping up for both the men and the women.
Men’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Preview
The men’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach was for a long time the domain of Australians, Americans and Hawaiians, with the men’s winner coming from one of those three locations every year from 1990 through to 2012. That all changed when Adriano de Souza won in 2013, and after a couple more Aussie victories, it’s now been seven years since a local got the chocolates at one of the most famous breaks in the world. Brazilians have been responsible for two of those courtesy of Toledo last year and Italo Ferreira in 2018, while Jordy Smith won in 2017 and John John Florence in 2019. Florence and the Brazilians will again be major threats this year, but there are a couple of Aussies more than capable of earning a victory which would be very popular with the Victorian crowd.
The Favourites
Jack Robinson is the most likely of those aforementioned Aussies to ring the bell at the end of this event. He’s been brilliant so far this year, making the semis at all three events, the final twice and snaring one win at Pipeline, and will wear the yellow jersey at Bells as a result. Last year was the first time that Robinson has competed at this event, but he looked every bit a seasoned pro out there. He averaged 13.97 en route to a semi-final, beating former winner Ferreira along the way, and only narrowly went down to fellow Australian Callum Robson in the final four. The way he’s been surfing, he will be hard to beat here this time around.
One who is more than capable of doing that is John John Florence, though the way he’s been surfing he’s quickly running out of chances to still be put in this conversation. Florence has always surfed Bells well; he won the event in huge conditions in 2019, has made the semis on a couple of other occasions, and though he was knocked out in the quarters last year, he averaged a huge 16.19 in his four heats, only going down in tight and high-scoring affair. He’s struggled so far this year and finds himself needing a kick up the bum to make sure that he avoids the mid-season cut, but he’s capable of switching it on at a moment’s notice, and given how he’s surfed here in the past this would be a good place to do it.
The man who beat Florence in that high-scoring quarterfinal here last year was Filipe Toledo, who has also been doing some of his best surfing at Bells in recent years. He won it for the first time last year, going one better than at the previous tournament in 2019 when he lost to Florence in the final. Toledo was brilliant here last year, scoring in excess of 16 twice and in excess of 15 three heats in a row. His scores were lower in the semi but he won comfortably, before a 14.74 saw him win well in the final. That was his first win en route to a maiden CT title, but this year he heads into the event having already been crowned champion at Sunset Beach. With form behind him both at this location and in recent events, he could easily win this one.
The Next Tier
It hasn’t been an ideal start to the season for talented young Aussie Ethan Ewing as he attempts to back up a breakout 2022 season which saw him make it through to the WSL Finals as the fourth ranked surfer in the world. Bells, however, would be an ideal place to recapture that form. Ewing was great here last year; from the Round of 32 through to the quarters, his heat scores read 15.73, 14.27 and 16.33. He faltered in the semis, but the penchant for the wave was plain to see. Ewing excels on a wide open face where he can showcase his carving, deliberate style, and that’s exactly what he’ll get at Bells Beach.
Someone who wasn’t present to showcase his own skills here last year was Gabriel Medina, but he will be this year and he’s likely to make his presence known. Medina has been knocked out in the quarters at every event this year in his first normal year on tour since before Covid, but you’d imagine the three-time world champ will hit form at some point. He’s not surfed at Bells since before Covid either, and he’s also never won here, but he does have a third and a couple of fifths to his name. It’s not typically a favourite break for goofies and he’s no exception, but such is his talent, it would be no surprise to see him ring the bell.
The Roughie
Whether he’s a realistic chance is up for debate, but the fairytale result would be for Owen Wright to salute in what will be his final Championship Tour appearance. A beloved figure on tour, Wright has never won at Bells, instead making an incredible habit of coming fifth. He’s done that at six of his last eight appearances here, but has never managed to go any further. Realistically it’s unlikely he’ll do that here, but the crowd will be well and truly behind him. Fanning very nearly did it a few years ago; perhaps this year Wright will go one further.
The Verdict
There are plenty of good chances at the 2023 Rip Curl Pro, but it’s hard to go past Jack Robinson given how he has been surfing. Three semi-finals appearances in as many events is extremely rare unless your name is Carissa Moore, but sure enough he’s done it. Add to that great form the fact that he looked terrific in his first CT event here last year, and there’s too much going for Robinson to tip anyone else.
Women’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Preview
Over the past decade, the women’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach hasn’t seen a whole lot of different names winning it. Steph Gilmore’s taken it out five times since 2007, Sally Fitzgibbons won in 2011 and 2012, Carissa Moore followed that with three consecutive wins, while Courtney Conlogue then won three of the next four. Tyler Wright bucked the trend last year, and those names make up many of those who will be leading the way this time around.
The Favourites
It’s tight at the top of the list of favourites, but last year’s winner has as much going for her as anyone. Tyler Wright has always been up there, finishing second twice, third twice, and fifth three times in her first seven appearances here. After an uncharacteristic ninth in 2018 she missed 2019 and Bells then disappeared off the schedule during Covid, but she bounced back in emphatic fashion with her inaugural win at Bells. Her performance at Supertubos was a big letdown – she was the first eliminated in Portugal – but prior to that she had a second and a third to her name this year. A win here will shoot her right back up towards the top of the leaderboard, and given how she’s performed here in the past she’s a good chance of doing that.
Nearly every event Wright seems to share favouritism with Carissa Moore, and that’s no different this time around. It’s easy to see why Moore is up there; she goes deep in the majority of tournaments, and she’s even better at Bells than she is at most venues. Last year was no different, as she made it through to the finals in an attempt to make it four wins at the Rip Curl Pro, but she was felled by an in-form Wright. She’s been a little off at the past two events after winning Pipeline to start off the season, but she’s hard enough to keep away from the final couple for a single event, let alone three in the row, so it would be no surprise to see her bounce back here.
The Next Tier
Molly Picklum is making a serious case to join the above two names. At the age of 20 and in her first full season, she’s taken an incredible leap forward this year, winning at Sunset Beach and finishing in the quarterfinals at the other two contests to take hold of the yellow jersey three events of the season. With her lack of experience it remains hard to imagine her going toe-to-toe with the likes of Moore and Wright for the entire season, but with every passing event that she performs well at, it gets a little easier. Last year, she had her worst finish for the season here, but she seems to already be a far more accomplished surfer now than she was then.
Picklum was just four years old when Steph Gilmore first won the Rip Curl Pro, but incredibly they’re both among the chances at the 2023 edition of the event. It seems like a strange thing to say for a reigning world champ, but Gilmore is not the surfer she once was. Still, given that she is the reigning world champ, she’s still more than capable of winding back the clock. She hasn’t really done so yet this year, with her best result a quarterfinal finish at Sunset Beach. If ever she was going to turn it on though, Bells Beach would be a good place to do it. The most successful surfer here in history, she often takes it up a gear in Torquay – opponents beware.
Picklum might have been young when Gilmore rung the bell for the first time, but Caitlin Simmers was barely even born. The 17-year-old American was not yet two for Gilmore’s first triumph, but with Gilmore still on tour she has already established herself as capable of beating the best. She did exactly that at Supertubos, winning her maiden CT event at just her fourth event on tour, taking the momentum from a ninth at Pipeline and a fifth at Sunset Beach to Portugal. It would be some sort of feat for her to go back to back, but she’s currently the third ranked surfer in the world and comes here with her tail up.
The Roughie
Courtney Conlogue didn’t have the start to the season she wanted in Hawaii; in fact, she was the only surfer to be knocked out in the Elimination Round at each of the first two events. As we all know, however, she’s capable of far more than that, which she showed at Supertubos with a finals appearance. Now she heads to Bells Beach, where she’s had more success than anywhere else in the world. She’s the winner of three of the past five events and like Simmers, has her tail up after Portugal. The above names certainly have a better chance than Conlogue does, but she seems to grow an extra leg at Bells Beach, so don’t rule her out.
The Verdict
It seems trite to just pick Wright or Moore at every event, so let’s change things up a bit here. Conlogue is at relatively long odds to take it out, but she has a lot going for her. She surfs well here nearly every year; after winning in 2016, 2017 and 2019, she was third here last year. Add to that her performance at Supertubos, and there’s plenty of reason to like her chances as a roughie.
