• Major Win For Macaulay, Leapfrogs Into Top Five
• Houshmand Earns Back-To-Back Victories With Buzzer-Beater
• Vahine Fierro and Frederico Morais Finish Runners Up

BALLITO, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Saturday, 8 July 2023) –  Bronte Macaulay (AUS) and Cole Houshmand (USA) won the Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill, Stop No. 3 on the World Surf League (WSL) Challenger Series (CS). After an exciting week of competition, the pair overcame a massive competitive field and varying conditions to claim victory.

Vahine Fierro (FRA) and Frederico Morais (POR) finished runners up respectively, earning solid results in Ballito and a huge boost to their Challenger Series campaign heading into the second half of the season.

Major Win For Macaulay, Leapfrogs Into Top Five

In an all goofy-foot Final, it was a battle of the backhand between Vahine Fierro (FRA) and Bronte Macaulay (AUS) who delivered standout performances throughout the week. Macaulay got the lead early on, building house and catching waves under Fierro’s priority who opted to wait for the set waves. The point of difference came in for Macaulay with her precision, power, and flair in her maneuvers, releasing the fins and showering the lineup with spray from her turns. The Western Australian has a couple of years of experience over Fierro and went all the way in Ballito including an excellent 8.50 (out of a possible 10), locking in her best result on the CS this year and leapfrogging her way to no. 5 on the rankings.

“I’m so stoked, I’m really happy,” Macaulay reacted. “I was kind of unsure about the year, not having a lot of points, so this feels amazing. I’ve been really inspired watching the boys on their backhand, but I’m just stoked to get the win. To all my family and friends back home, thanks for the support. Vahine is a teammate and she was surfing really well, she’s in that younger generation of surfers and I think women’s surfing is in a really good place right now.”

The Tahitian moved up into fourth place on the rankings ahead of Macaulay, and Isabella Nichols (AUS) claimed the no. 1 spot after her third-place finish in Ballito.

“Coming out of Olympic qualification, it was such a high for me that I wanted to make sure I stay grounded and also get a result here,” Fierro said. “I’m so happy to have made my first Final ever. The waves were so good and a big congratulations to Bronte, she deserves her win and I’m excited for the rest of the year.”

Houshmand Earns Back-To-Back Victories With Buzzer-Beater

Cole Houshmand (USA) earned back-to-back victories on the Challenger Series after earning a buzzer-beater to take out the Men’s Final in Ballito over Frederico Morais (POR). An unbelievable result by any standard, Houshmand jumped to the number one spot on the CS rankings ahead of the US Open, an event close to home for the San Clemente surfer.

“I’m speechless right now, that was the scariest heat I’ve had this whole event,” Houshmand admitted. “Luckily that wave came, but congrats to Frederico he was ripping the whole event. It’s been amazing. Shoutout to everyone back home, Kolohe Andino and the 2% boys, Kade Matson who’s been ripping, it’s been a real support crew.”

Patience was the name of the game with minimal set waves rolling through. Houshmand stuck to his strategy of waiting for the best waves, but with long, ten-minute lulls it was Morais who controlled the heat. Houshmand finally found a good wall to work with, unleashing his monster backhand for a 6.33. Not to be outdone, Morais locked in a 7.33 for picking out a cleaner, bigger wave and adding variety to his turns, going vertical into the lip, drawing his rail out for a smooth turn and throwing out his fins for the last maneuver. As the seconds were counting down, Houshmand paddled into a lump requiring a 4.34 and kept his nerves to whack two turns, and stay on his feet to get a 4.67. Morais caught a wave behind him, but it came in after the buzzer and did not count toward his total.

“I’m super stoked, but it’s bittersweet,” Morais responded. “I had the lead until the end, and I thought my last wave would count. I never thought it was going to be three and four score decision heat, but it is what it is. You got to take in the big picture and it’s a big, important step for me to get back on tour so I’m happy.”

Morais moved up seven spots to no. 3 on the CS rankings. Next up will be the Wallex US Open of Surfing presented by Pacifico from July 29 to August 6.

For highlights from today’s Ballito Pro Presented by O’Neill competition, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

Watch LIVE: Ballito Pro Presented By O’Neill
The Ballito Pro Presented By O’Neill holds a competition window through Sunday, July 9, 2023. The competition will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL’s YouTube channel, and the free WSL app. Check out more ways to watch from the WSL’s broadcast partners.

The Ballito Pro pres. by O’Neill is proudly supported by O’Neill, KwaDukuza Municipality, Surfing South Africa, SMG Rocks, Monster Energy, North Coast Courier, Coco de Mer and Fiamma Grill.

For more information, visit WorldSurfLeague.com

• Day 6 Challenger Series: Semifinalists Decided In Grinding Conditions At Ballito Pro
• Fierro On Form, Bests Fitzgibbons In Quarters Rematch
• Matson Conquers Current No. 1, Willcox Suffers Shock Elimination
• Next Call: Saturday, 8 July at 8:00 a.m. SAST (8pm Friday nite in Hawaii)

BALLITO, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Friday, 7 July 2023) – The Ballito Pro presented by O’Neill, Stop No. 3 on the World Surf League (WSL) Challenger Series (CS), powered through a crucial day of competition, completing 14 heats to determine the Women’s and Men’s Semifinalists.

It was nothing short of challenging, with the easterly onshore breaking up the two-to-three foot surf. Wave selection became crucial, with some heats getting a push of energy while others were painstakingly slow.

Fierro On Form, Bests Fitzgibbons In Quarters Rematch

The first Women’s Quarterfinal was a rematch between former Championship Tour (CT) competitor Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) and up-and-comer Vahine Fierro (FRA). Fitzgibbons got the better of Fierro in the Gold Coast Pro, but Fierro was hungry to get even in Ballito. Fierro turned up the heat when she locked in a 7.00 (out of a possible 10) with her powerful backhand surfing, and Fitzgibbons had to play catch-up for the majority of the heat.

There was a flurry of action in the dying seconds, with two great exchanges. The former CT-star caught a wave under Fierro’s priority and released her fins for extra variety to get a 7.23, but the Tahitian found a longer wall to work with, smashing out four backhand turns to narrowly get the score and take out the win.

“This was probably the best heat of my year so far,” Fierro said. “Coming up against Sally was a rematch for me, I lost against her in the Quarters at Snapper. She’s such an amazing surfer, I knew the scores were going to be high and we’re going to go back and forth. I let her go when there were two minutes left and she got the score, and then with 30 seconds left, I managed to get the score. It’s never over until the last second and I felt really confident.”

Nichols Relies On Big Heat Experience, Upsets Local Favourite

Isabella Nichols (AUS) relied on her CT experience and tactics to overcome the local favourite, Sarah Baum (RSA) in their Quarterfinal matchup. Fresh off the win in Sydney, Nichols controlled the heat from start to finish while Baum had a frustrating time, unable to get a decent score for her waves. After scraping through a nail-biting heat in the Round of 16, Baum locked in a second Quarterfinal berth for the year and another good result on her way to qualifying for the CT.

“It was always going to be really hard against Sarah,” Nichols admitted. “She’s been on fire this year, she always surfs well and I really believe she’ll qualify this year, I can feel it. Whoever got through that heat I would’ve been stoked, Sarah deserves a big result. I’ve been on the cusp for many years as well, it’s really tough mentally. Sometimes you just have to change your headspace, if something’s not working you need to change it, and that’s what I did. I feel like it’s going well and I’m having fun, you just need to reframe it like this is the best job ever, just surf like you’re on holiday!”

Rounding up the Semifinals are Zahli Kelly (AUS) and Bronte Macaulay (AUS) who showcased their own dominant performances earlier in the day.

An exciting clash kicked off the Men’s Quarterfinals with Kade Matson (USA) taking on the current CS rankings leader Jacob Willcox (AUS). The 21-year-old from San Clemente stuck to his spicy forehand turns, while Willcox had multiple attempts to land a huge air maneuver. Unable to land anything big, Willcox suffered a shock elimination with Matson earning his career-best result on the CS.

“I kind of went in there with a game plan and stuck with it,” Matson said. “I wanted to be on the first best two waves and after that, I didn’t really have to ride another wave. I just held priority and stayed under him and it worked out. I’m taking it heat by heat, trying not to think too much about points or finals and just having fun and hanging out with friends.”

The ocean slowed down on the incoming tide for the last Quarterfinal of the day. Tahiti’s Kauli Vaast (FRA) did well to find a few small peaks and increase his lead, while Cole Houshmand (USA) was begging the ocean to produce something. With less than two minutes on the clock, Houshmand finally caught a good wave, throwing everything he had into the first turn and keeping his speed to hit the closeout section for a 7.67. It was enough to snatch the win out of Vaast’s hands who was visibly disappointed.

“That was scary, it was one of the slowest heats I’ve had in a long time,” Houshmand said. “I just stuck to my guns and it worked out. I knew I just needed one wave and it came in, stoked I pulled it off. I had a sense of relief, but I didn’t know what it looked like from the beach, but it felt pretty good and I was just praying it was the score. You never know, so I’m stoked it worked out.”

Veteran competitors Frederico Morais (POR) and Joan Duru (FRA) punched in their tickets to the Semifinals, with both surfers earning their best results in Ballito and on the CS.

The next call will be on Saturday, 8 July at 8:00 a.m. SAST for a possible 8:35 a.m. start.

Watch LIVE: Ballito Pro Presented By O’Neill
The Ballito Pro Presented By O’Neill holds a competition window through Sunday, July 9, 2023. The competition will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, the WSL’s YouTube channel, and the free WSL app. Check out more ways to watch from the WSL’s broadcast partners.

The Ballito Pro pres. by O’Neill is proudly supported by O’Neill, KwaDukuza Municipality, Surfing South Africa, SMG Rocks, Monster Energy, North Coast Courier, Coco de Mer and Fiamma Grill.