Eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore to sit out second season
Eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore has abandoned plans to return to full-time competition on the surfing world tour to focus on fully recovering from injuries. The Australian surfing great will extend her break from the World Surf League's Championship Tour into a second season, while reigning men's champion John John Florence has also stepped away from competing in 2025.
Gilmore was expected to return to professional surfing at the Pipeline Pro in Hawaii next week after being awarded a season wildcard but will now sit out this year's campaign. The WSL has granted Gilmore another wildcard for the 2026 CT season which would allow her to chase a record-extending ninth women's world crown.
"After careful consideration, I've decided to take another season away from the WSL Tour," Gilmore said. "This time will allow me to focus on healing from some lingering injuries and redirect my energy toward continuing my adventures of surfing around the globe."
Gilmore spent her first of 17 years away from competition surfing lesser-known breaks, including for the Rip Curl Search series. The 36-year-old won her first world tour event as a wildcard entry in 2005 and claimed the first of four consecutive world championships in her maiden Tour campaign two years later.
Australia's Molly Picklum and Tyler Wright will again be part of the women's CT, with Sally Fitzgibbons and Isabella Nichols joining their compatriots after qualifying through the 2024 challenger series. Gilmore's spot on the women's tour has been passed to Luana Silva of Brazil.
Jack Robinson and Ethan Ewing headline six Australians set to take part in the men's competition that will be without the defending champion after Florence decided to focus on new projects. Alan Cleland Jr will take the 32-year-old's spot and become the first Mexican to compete full-time in the championship, while Florence will be handed a wildcard to return to competition next year.
"I'll be focusing on surfing in a different way this year," Florence said. "I am looking to explore, find new waves, and push my surfing as far as possible. I'll be filming into some new projects and sharing my adventures along the way - and intend to compete for another world title in 2026."
Gabriel Medina will miss the start of the 2025 season after having surgery for a pectoral injury sustained while surfing near his home in Brazil. The three-time world champion has pulled out of the opening three rounds of the CT as the men's competition is thrown wide open.
Eleven-time world champion Kelly Slater has been given an event wildcard for the Pipeline Pro as the 52-year-old chases a ninth CT victory at the famous break. Women's 2022 Pipeline winner Moana Jones Wong will also enter a wildcard for the event starting on 27 January.
