Portugal has become a hub for the world’s best surfers, with three major competitions spread across the country turning its coastline into what the World Surf League has described as the “epicentre” of world surfing for almost two months.
After events in Matosinhos and Ericeira, attention now turns to Supertubos Beach in Peniche, where the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal begins its waiting period on Friday, October 16.
The Championship Tour event, which runs until October 25, will bring the world’s surfing elite back to Portugal for the 10th and third-to-last round of the season – and will feature a record five Portuguese surfers.
Yolanda Hopkins, Francisca Veselko and Teresa Bonvalot will compete in the women’s event, while Frederico Morais and Guilherme Ribeiro line up in the men’s competition.
For Francisco Spínola, World Surf League director-general for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the concentration of major competitions in Portugal has made the country an important base for many of the sport’s leading names.
“With the 6,000-point Qualifying Series event in Matosinhos right at the start of September, the Challenger Series in Ericeira and the main circuit event in Peniche, even with the events in Brazil in between, many surfers used Portugal as a ‘hub’,” he told Lusa.
“For almost two months we have the world’s best surfers on our coast, from north to south.”
The run began with the Xacobeo Norte Surf Fest, held at Leça da Palmeira in Matosinhos from September 1 to 6, followed by the EDP Ericeira Pro at Ribeira d’Ilhas between October 6 and 12.
Now comes the biggest event of the three.
Record Portuguese contingent
Olympian Yolanda Hopkins, 28, arrives at Supertubos ranked 14th in the world in her debut Championship Tour season, having survived the cut that allows her to continue into the latter stages of the championship.
Fellow rookie Francisca ‘Kika’ Veselko, 23, finished outside the top 14 but has been handed a wildcard to compete on home waves.
Teresa Bonvalot, currently third on the Challenger Series, has also earned a place in the field after replacing injured Australian Isabella Nichols.
On the men’s side, former world number one Frederico Morais and Guilherme Ribeiro have both received wildcards, taking the Portuguese representation to five – the largest ever at the Peniche event.
Meanwhile, reigning world champion and 2025 Peniche winner Yago Dora of Brazil returns to Supertubos, while three-time world champion Gabriel Medina, two-time champion Filipe Toledo and 2019 world champion Ítalo Ferreira form part of a particularly strong Brazilian contingent.
Among the women, five-time world champion and Olympic gold medallist Carissa Moore is one of the headline names, alongside 2025 world champion Molly Picklum and American Caroline Marks, the 2023 world champion and two-time winner in Peniche.
‘Premium’ time for Portuguese waves
The WSL believes Portugal’s position on the international circuit has been strengthened by the quality of its waves and organisation.
Last year’s event at Ribeira d’Ilhas was voted the best on the Challenger Series circuit by surfers, organisers, judges and other stakeholders.
Spínola said the timing of the Portuguese events – around late September and October – offers some of the best conditions of the year.
“These dates are ‘premium’ for surfing in Portugal,” he said.
He added that recognition is increasingly important as countries around the world compete to host WSL events, with growing interest particularly from Asia and increased competition from contests staged on artificial waves.
“The greater the recognition our events receive, the more confident we can be that they will continue to be held here in our country for many years to come,” he said.
Peniche could meanwhile play a decisive role in deciding this year’s world champions.
Following Portugal, only two Championship Tour events remain: the Philippines Pro at Cloud 9, from October 31 to November 10, and the Pipe Masters in Hawaii, between December 8 and 20.