Five Portuguese surfers head to Peniche for the WSL Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal

Five Portuguese surfers in the field

Five Portuguese surfers will compete at the Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal at Supertubos beach in Peniche, the tenth stage and third-to-last event of the WSL Championship Tour. The group is made up of three women and two men. The waiting period begins on Friday, 16 October, and the contest runs until 25 October. Yolanda Hopkins, a 28-year-old Olympian, is in her debut season on the Championship Tour and holds 14th place in the world rankings after the ninth stage in the United States. She cleared the cut that gives her places in the 10th and 11th stages, in Portugal and the Philippines. Francisca 'Kika' Veselko, 23, is also competing on the elite circuit for the first time this season. She finished 23rd, although only the top 14 passed the cut, and the organisers gave her an invitation to surf at home.

Replacement and wildcards

Teresa Bonvalot, currently third in the Challenger Series, the access circuit to the Championship Tour, was chosen to replace Australia's Isabella Nichols, who is injured. Frederico Morais, a former world top-ranked surfer, and Guilherme Ribeiro received wildcards for the Supertubos event, which brings Portugal's contingent to five. The last women's place went to the French surfer Johanne Defay. She won in Peniche in 2024, competed in Portugal last year while four months pregnant, and has been away from the tour this year because of motherhood.

Portugal's autumn surf calendar

Francisco Spínola, the WSL's director for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, told Lusa that the three WSL events in Portugal make the country the centre of world surfing across September and October. The Xacobeo Norte Surf Fest, a 6,000-point Qualifying Series event, ran from 1 to 6 September at Leça da Palmeira in Matosinhos. The EDP Ericeira Pro, a Challenger Series event, took place from 6 to 12 October at Ribeira D'Ilhas in Ericeira. The Ericeira event was voted the best Challenger Series event last year by surfers, organisers, judges and stakeholders, and Spínola credited the surf quality, which he said was classic Ericeira.

1. 1-6 September 2026Xacobeo Norte Surf Fest, a Qualifying Series event, at Leça da Palmeira in Matosinhos
2. 6-12 October 2026EDP Ericeira Pro, a Challenger Series event, at Ribeira D'Ilhas in Ericeira
3. 16-25 October 2026MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal, a Championship Tour stop, at Supertubos in Peniche

We have the world's best surfers on our coast for almost two months, from north to south.

Spínola also described the logistics as demanding but rewarding.

It has been a very demanding logistical challenge, because the team cannot split itself in two, but it has also been very rewarding.

The season's final event is at Pipeline in Hawaii, United States.