Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal paused after women's semifinals, may finish Friday

Event paused after the women's semifinals

The Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal, a stage of the World Surf League (WSL) main tour, was interrupted on Thursday, 22 October, at Supertubos beach in Peniche once the women's semifinals had been completed. The day's original plan already allowed for a stop at that point, with the men's semifinals and the women's final dependent on how the sea and wind developed. Waves were good and the morning wind was offshore, but forecasts pointed to exceptional conditions on Friday, so the WSL placed the event on hold to finish the contest in the best possible waves. The organisers indicated that the contest could conclude on Friday, 23 October.

Women's semifinals

Caitlin Simmers beat Bettylou Sakura Johnson of Hawaii in the first semifinal. Simmers scored 11.33 points out of a possible 20 from her two best waves (7.50 and 3.83), against 10.26 for Johnson (5.33 and 4.93). Simmers is the 2024 world champion and won the Portuguese stage in 2023. In the second semifinal, Molly Picklum, the reigning world champion who lost in the semifinals at Supertubos last year, scored 8.63 (4.63 and 4.00). Lakey Peterson, runner-up at the 2018 world championship and a finalist beaten at Peniche in 2022, managed 7.40 (4.23 and 3.17), so Picklum advanced to the final against Simmers.

Men's semifinals still to run

When the contest resumes, the four men's semifinalists are Gabriel Medina, Ítalo Ferreira, Yago Dora and Griffin Colapinto. The first semifinal matches Medina, a three-time world champion (2014, 2018 and 2021) who lifted the Supertubos trophy in 2017, against Ferreira, the 2019 world champion and Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist who has won at Peniche twice (2018 and 2019). The second semifinal sees Dora, the reigning world champion and winner of the Peniche stage in 2025, face Colapinto, who has won at Peniche in 2022 and 2024. The next call is set for 09:00 on Friday, 23 October, and no men's semifinal heat has been run yet.

Timeline and what comes next

The stage opened on 16 October at Supertubos and is the 10th stage of the main tour, which the articles describe as its third-to-last event. The timeline below sets out the beats confirmed so far. The waiting period runs until Sunday, 25 October, and the sources do not say when the men's semifinals or the women's final will be decided. No source reports a result from the men's semifinals or the women's final yet.