It’s come down to this, one day, winner take all, the Lexus WSL Finals are live at Lower Trestles today. The men’s and women’s world champions will be decided in clean, high-performance conditions at the famed Southern California cobblestone point. Going into the event, Hawaii’s John John Florence and California’s Caity Simmers hard holding onto the number one seeds, but with a hungry herd of title contenders coming after them, it’s going to be a long, hard-fought day of surfing. Stay tuned right here as we bring you live updates, commentary and analysis from every heat of action. The first heat’s about to take the water, stay tuned!
Match 2
Italo Ferreira vs. Jack Robinson
Coming Up…
Tatiana Weston Webb vs. Brisa Hennessy
A grudge match between two seasoned WSL Finalists, after winning her opening match, Tatiana Weston-Webb was up against number three seed Brisa Hennessy. With both surfers specializing in the power game, the winner of this heat was going to be determined by rail work.
Tatiana opened with a four-point ride on the left, which served as an ideal warmup wave for what was to come. After Hennessy tapped into a six-pointer, largely on the merit of a big, layback carve, Weston-Webb responded on the right. Throwing up a string of hammering backhand turns, with 20 minutes left in the heat, she added a 7.50 to her scoreline and seized command of the lineup.
Hennessy, who spent most of the heat in comeback mode, dug into a couple rights, but had to settle for mid-range scores as the waves kind of broke out to sea and didn’t offer the steeper faces for more critical maneuvers. Getting down to the business end of the match, Weston-Webb added a six-point ride to her scoreline as a backup, putting Hennessy in even more of a spot.
The last five minutes of the heat saw a flurry of exchanges, but nothing of consequence came from it, and now, Weston-Webb’s second win of the day sets her up for a replay of the Olympic final in Tahiti, where she will face number two seed Caroline Marks. A battle of goofy-footers, if Weston-Webb can take the win against Marks she’ll find herself in the title match against Caity Simmers.
Match 1
Ethan Ewing vs. Italo Ferreira
This matchup did not disappoint. Italo caught the first wave with some decent turns, but it’s the first true exchange that’s a thing of beauty. Ethan came out swinging with two trademark crisp snaps before hammering the end section. He picked up an 8.33 to start riding a 6’1” Juliette model from DHD. Italo then feasted on the second right, hammering eight turns on a wave that nearly took him to Church’s. The wave got small toward the end, which knocked the score to a 7.67. Ethan gets a decent right with a few turns for a 5.67 backup.
Fireworks at the finish: After a long lull, Italo used priority to take a snap, backside floater blowtail 360* reverse, but there were a few bobbles. He then went for the lefts. His second attempt is solid: two lofty air reverses at the start and the finish. He needed a 6.34 and got a 7. That left Ethan trailing also needing a 6.34. He took off with 90 seconds left and calmly went to work. A floater to snap to cutback clinic on a four-footer gets a 6.5 and the lead. But on Italo’s tenth wave, he launched one of those enormous backhand rotations everyone knew was coming. Judges gave him a 7.8 and the W over EE. Italo advances and Australia weeps.
Molly Picklum vs. Tatiana Weston-Webb
Match one in the books and it’s the number five seed Tatiana Weston-Webb taking the upset win over Aussie Molly Picklum. The first heat of the day is always a bit unpredictable as nobody’s sussed the conditions and consistency, but Weston-Webb came out swinging and never looked back.
In clean, fun-sized surf at Lowers, dropping a six-point ride for a string of searing turns, Weston-Webb picked up right where she left off this season. After a silver medal performance at the Olympics last month, she came into the WSL Finals with a head full of confidence and momentum and asserted herself straight away.
Meanwhile, Picklum, who started the 2024 season in exceptional form, struggled to find her flow. Posting a string of four-point rides, she struggled to put herself on high scoring waves, tap into her rhythm and complete her rides.
For the effort, Weston-Webb is now headed into the second match, where she’ll face number three seed Brisa Hennessy.
Related: World No. 1 John John Florence Talks Titles, Lowers and Olympic Surfing