Weeks after 18-year-old Caity Simmers became the youngest world champion in WSL history, and a month after 17-year-old Canadian wildcard Erin Brooks stormed the Fiji Pro, France’s Tya Zebrowski just won the Rip Curl Pro Anglet. Her third European Qualifying Series victory in a row, we can now add her to the list of teen phenoms taking the sport by storm.
“I’m very happy with this win,” Zebrowski said after the awards ceremony. “My goal for the next year is to try and qualify for the Challenger Series and then I hope I can get some good results so I can qualify for the tour. I like to watch everyone on tour, because each person has a different style of surfing, and I’m learning from them.”
Earlier this week, SURFER writer Ben Mondy profiled Zebrowski, who at the time was just coming off a win at the Caraïbos Surf de Nuit Anglet, a specialty night surfing event.
Related: Meet 13-Year-Old Tya Zebrowski, the Next Teen Surf Prodigy on the Blocks
“With a combination of elite athlete parents and a surfing background based around French beachbreaks and Tahitian reefs, Tya was identified early as a real talent,” described Mondy. “She was surfing Teahupo’o by the time she was 8, and finished runner-up in the French National Championships aged 11.”
After wins in Anglet, as well as at the BYD Pro and ABANCA Pantin Classic Galicia Pro, Zebrowski now sits atop the WSL European QS ratings.
On the men’s side of the draw, the Basque Country’s Keoni Lasa topped the podium to take the first QS win of his career. He managed to hold off Basque-surfers Adur Amatriain, Yago Dominguez and Spain’s under-18 champion, Jacobo Trigo, in a hard-fought final.
Coming up next in Europe, the Challenger Series is headed to Portugal for the EDP Ericeira Pro, which kicks off on September 29.
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