Women’s Qualifying Round Matchups:
7:07 AM | HEAT 1: Brisa Hennessy (CRC) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA) vs. Bella Kenworthy (USA)
7:52 AM | HEAT 2: Caroline Marks (USA) vs. Isabella Nichols (AUS) vs. Luana Silva (BRA)
8:37 AM | HEAT 3: Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) vs. Macy Callaghan (AUS)
9:22 AM | HEAT 4: Molly Picklum (AUS) vs. Johanne Defay (FRA) vs. Vahine Fierro (FRA)
10:48 AM | HEAT 5: Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) vs. Gabriela Bryan (HAW) vs. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
11:33 AM | HEAT 6: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Sawyer Lindblad (USA) vs. Erin Brooks (CAN)

Men’s Round of 16 Matchups:
1:00 PM | HEAT 1: Ethan Ewing (AUS) vs. Deivid Silva (BRA)
1:30 PM | HEAT 2: Jordy Smith (RSA) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
2:00 PM | HEAT 3: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Jackson Bunch (HAW)
2:30 PM | HEAT 4: Rio Waida (INA) vs. Connor O’Leary (JPN)
3:00 PM | HEAT 5: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Mateus Herdy (BRA)
3:30 PM | HEAT 6: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN)
4:41 PM | HEAT 7: Jack Robinson (AUS) vs. Liam O’Brien (AUS)
5:11 PM | HEAT 8: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Joel Vaughan (AUS)

Women’s Elimination Round Matchups
6:52 PM – 8:22 PM

Former World Champions hope to deliver performances in the Qualifying Round to avoid the Elimination Round, and secure a spot in the Quarterfinals tomorrow. 2023 World Champion Caroline Marks (USA) celebrated her birthday in Abu Dhabi this week, and the now 23-year-old will get her fourth chance to compete in wave basin technology on the CT. Marks will take on currently ranked World No. 6 Isabella Nichols (AUS), 2024 World Junior Champion Luana Silva (BRA) in Heat 2.

Reigning World Champion Caitlin Simmers (USA) started the 2025 season with a runner-up finish at Pipeline. In 2023 at the Surf Ranch Pro, Simmers found herself in the Quarterfinals. In Heat 3, Simmers is up against 19-year-old Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW), and event wildcard Macy Callaghan (AUS).

To round out the Qualifying Round, two-time World Champion and 2025 Lexus Pipe Pro winner, Tyler Wright (AUS), will have to face 2024 Rookie of the Year Sawyer Lindblad (USA), and rookie Erin Brooks (CAN) in Heat 6.

With high-performance heat wins in the men’s Qualifying Rounds, Filipe Toledo (BRA) and Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) will face each other in Heat 6 of the Round of 16 to determine who will secure a Quarterfinal spot.

Rookies remaining in the hunt for a Finals Day in Abu Dhabi include, Jackson Bunch (HAW) who will face 2023 Surf Ranch Pro event winner Griffin Colapinto (USA). Bunch secured a heat win in the Qualifying Round against Lexus Pipe Pro back-to-back winner Barron Mamiya (HAW), and Miguel Pupo (BRA). In the Elimination Round, Pupo scored the highest single wave score to advance to the Round of 16.

Rookie Joel Vaughan (AUS) found himself in the Round of 16 after securing within the top four of last night’s Elimination Round. Vaughan will conclude the Round in his heat against Yago Dora (BRA), who has been looking exceptionally sharp in the practice days.

For the women’s Qualifying Round and men’s Round of 16, each surfer will have four attempts, two rights, and two lefts. The top left, and top right wave scores will make up the heat total and determine the heat winner.

In the women’s Elimination Round, each surfer will only have two attempts, one right and one left, with only their best single-wave score counting. These scores will be ranked in a leaderboard, and only the top two placing surfers will move on to tomorrow’s Finals Day.

Watch the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro LIVE at WorldSurfLeague.com.

About the WSL
The World Surf League (WSL) is the global home of competitive surfing, crowning World Champions since 1976 and showcasing the world’s best surfing. The WSL oversees surfing’s global competitive landscape and sets the standard for elite performance in the most dynamic playing field in all of sports. With a firm commitment to its values, the WSL prioritizes the protection of the ocean, equality, and the sport’s rich heritage, while championing progression and innovation.

• Rookie Jackson Bunch Punctures Dominance of Top Seeds
• Past Success Leads to Early Advantage for Surf Ranch Standouts
• Waida and Igarashi Grow Confident Under Pressure
• Four Surfers Survive Night Session Eliminations
• 14 hours ahead of Hawaii…

Nearly all Qualifying Round heats were won by top-seeded surfers, most of whom have had multiple opportunities to compete in the environment of man-made waves on the CT. However, 2025 Rookie Jackson Bunch (HAW) was able to pierce that dominance and claim his first heat win as a member of the Tour over current World No. 1 Barron Mamiya (HAW) and CT veteran Miguel Pupo (BRA). Mamiya landed the first air of the day, an alley-oop, but the back-to-back Lexus Pipe Pro winner was topped on the very next wave by the same maneuver from Bunch. A lofty, clean execution from Bunch on his fourth and final run sent the 21-year-old from Maui into his first Round of 16 at the CT level.

“I’ve been going left this whole time and kind of doing somewhat of an exact run I just did,” Bunch said. “I had the confidence that I was putting in the work already. And yeah, I mean obviously the wave came together but it’s just getting that timing right and hitting the section at the right time.”

Experience paid off for 2023 Surf Ranch Pro winner Griffin Colapinto (USA), who posted the highest heat total of the Qualifying Round. Colapinto’s fluid point-break surfing, which has also led him to victory in El Salvador, was again on full display as he brought finesse, along with a healthy dose of variety, to pick up solid scores in both directions. The 26-year-old’s 14.57 two-wave heat total included a 7.40 from his first right and 7.17 from his last left.

“I feel like it just gives us all equal opportunity and you got to perform on the right and the left,” Colapinto said. “Ever since I was little, I always put a lot of emphasis on being as well-rounded as possible. So being able to get scored on every aspect of your surfing, that’s why I love it so much, and yeah, I think it helps me. You don’t really want to show your very best stuff at the start, you know, hopefully save it for the Final. That was kind of my strategy.”

Colapinto sent Imaikalani deVault (HAW) and Kauli Vaast (FRA), the wildcard and Paris 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist, into the Night Session right before Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist and 2023 Surf Ranch Pro runner-up Italo Ferreira (BRA) did the same to Rookie Joel Vaughan (AUS) and wildcard Bronson Meydi (INA). Meydi, the 2024 World Junior Champion, brought a strong challenge to Ferreira, the 2019 World Champion, after posting a 7.17 on the right for his first wave ever surfed on the CT. Meydi and Ferreira both struggled to finish waves on their backhands, but a 7.40 earned by the Brazilian held as the highest number of the round from the left, and carried him through to the Round of 16.

Two more top-seeded Brazilians with strong past results in the KSWC technology, Yago Dora (BRA) and Filipe Toledo (BRA), were able to advance directly into the Round of 16. A 7.00 for Dora’s opening left gave him the advantage in an extremely tight heat. Just 0.26 separated the two-wave totals of all three surfers, Dora, Samuel Pupo (BRA), and Cole Houshmand (USA).

Toledo opened with the highest single wave score of the day, a 7.83. The speed and variety of the two-time World Champion’s maneuvers set him apart from the rest of the field regardless of the fact that he chose to stick to the face of the wave instead of utilizing his strong aerial arsenal.

Two-time Olympian Rio Waida (INA) closed out his second season on Tour in 2024 by making his first CT Final and finishing within the top 10 at World No. 9. As the 25-year-old’s confidence grows, so do his results. That confidence led to success today, as Waida’s searing rail and proficiency maintaining its speed on both his forehand and backhand earned him some of the day’s best scores.

“I love moments like this,” Waida said. “Everybody’s got the same opportunity and it’s almost equal. In the ocean, it’s hard because I need experience in the ocean and the guys been on the Tour for 10 years, they have a lot more experience, so they almost, they can beat by experience. But this format, I feel like I can just focus on myself and do my best. I love it, I’m enjoying it, and the strategy, just surf, you know, just focus on myself and do what I do.”

Waida cruised to victory over Ryan Callinan (AUS) and Alejo Muniz (BRA) in the Qualifying Round. Japan’s Connor O’Leary (JPN) and Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) had a tougher route than the Indonesian, but both were also able to avoid the Night Session.

Trailing behind current World No. 2 Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), who convincingly led throughout the match-up that also included Alan Cleland Jr (MEX), Igarashi needed at least a 6.81 from his final wave. The Olympic Silver Medalist rose to the occasion, drilling down the line to post the highest number of the heat, a 7.57, and leave Fioravanti needing a 6.95 from his last wave. The Italian’s score came close, but Igarashi claimed the win by just 0.21.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” Igarashi said. “I was looking at Leo [Fioravanti] and we were looking at each other and we we both knew that it was a really important score. It was just one of those things where it was so tight it could have gone either way. It was so tricky, honestly. I knew what I wanted to do and I had my line but it went completely out the window after my second turn, so I just started kind of freestyling it. Sometimes that goes your way and sometimes it can go completely wrong, so it’s a hard one.”

Australian Tour frontrunners Jack Robinson (AUS) and Ethan Ewing (AUS) advanced directly into the Round of 16 after claiming wins in consecutive heats. Locking straight into the beautiful rail work that saw him place in the Semifinals at the 2023 Surf Ranch Pro, Ewing opened with a 7.50, one of the highest scores of the morning. Backing it up with a 6.23 on his first left, Ewing’s 13.73 heat total sent Matthew McGillivray (RSA) and wildcard Mateus Herdy (BRA) into the Night Session.

“I guess it just takes the pressure off of like, in the ocean you’re wondering about positioning and if you’re gonna get a lot of opportunities,” Ewing said. “It’s a good thing about this event, you just know you’re gonna get the wave, but the pressure is definitely there to perform.”

The elation and devastation of losing early at Stop No. 1 despite posting his first-ever Perfect 10-point ride on the CT was washed away for Robinson after the Olympic Silver Medalist started strong at Surf Abu Dhabi. The 2024 World No. 4 earned two advancing scores from his first two waves, both well-executed with no errors, to move directly into the Round of 16. The single heat win today is already a massive improvement on the 27-year-old’s two previous appearances in KSWC technology, where he placed dead last both times.

“I’ve had a fair bit of practice, I feel like, in the pool,” Robinson said. “I’ve come over a couple of times. So it’s good just getting the confidence, and feel good here. Just good to get it done, you know, get a couple keepers, and move through. Because you don’t know, the conditions can change here with the wind. They say it’s a wave pool and it’s the same, but it’s not always the same. It’s a bit windy sometimes.”

Liam O’Brien (AUS) joined the Australian contingent in the last heat of the day, overtaking Joao Chianca (BRA) and Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) in Heat 12. O’Brien’s final two scores, a 7.00 on the right and a 5.70 on the left to beat out his competition and avoid the night session eliminations.

Miguel Pupo (BRA), rookie Joel Vaughan (AUS), Deivid Silva (BRA), and event wildcard Mateus Herdy (BRA) also advanced to the men’s Round of 16 after the night’s dreaded Elimination Round dispatched 20 competitors from the draw. The round allowed the 24 men to surf one right and one left, and only counting one single wave score counted in the round’s leaderboard.

The leader of the Elimination Round with a single wave score of 7.77 was Miguel Pupo (BRA). After falling to CT Rookie Jackson Bunch (HAW) in the Qualifying Round, Pupo found himself facing elimination with one final wave to deliver a high enough single score to remain on the leaderboard. Pupo left it all on the line with a grab rail air-reverse, and it earned him the best score of the night session. He’ll move onto the Round of 16 where he’ll face Jordy Smith (RSA).

For highlights from today’s Surf Abu Dhabi Pro, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

About the WSL
The World Surf League (WSL) is the global home of competitive surfing, crowning World Champions since 1976 and showcasing the world’s best surfing. The WSL oversees surfing’s global competitive landscape and sets the standard for elite performance in the most dynamic playing field in all of sports. With a firm commitment to its values, the WSL prioritizes the protection of the ocean, equality, and the sport’s rich heritage, while championing progression and innovation.