BELLS BEACH, Victoria, Australia (Tuesday, April 15, 2025) - The 2025 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) is heading down under for Stop No. 5, the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy, which will run from April 18 - 28, 2025. The iconic Bells Beach will launch the inaugural GWM Aussie Treble, which will see three events across Australia contested as the ominous Mid-season Cut looms for competitors low on the rankings.
Current World No. 1s Caity Simmers (USA) and Italo Ferreira (BRA) will wear the Yellow Leader jerseys as they head to an event they have both won, Simmers as recently as last year, while Ferreira claimed victory in 2018. Although they head to Bells at the top of the rankings, Jordy Smith (RSA) and Gabriela Bryan (HAW) come into the event in form, having just claimed victory at the Surf City El Salvador Pro over the weekend.
Attention Shifts to Australia For Inaugural GWM Aussie Treble
The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Presented by Bonsoy will mark the first event of the inaugural GWM Aussie Treble, which will crown the best performers across the three Australian-based Championship Tour (CT) events this season.
The ‘GWM Aussie Treble' will see competitors accumulate points across events at Bells Beach in Victoria, Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast, and Margaret River in Western Australia, with the top-ranked man and woman winning a GWM Tank 300 after the three events.
After events in Hawaii, Abu Dhabi, Portugal, and El Salvador, the surfing world's attention will now shift to Australia, where the first of three events will kick off at the iconic Bells Beach, a location with over six decades of competitive surfing history. Bells is a wave that requires patience, timing and, for the most part, experience. A staple on the Victorian sporting calendar, the traditional Easter Weekend sees thousands of fans filling the beach and enjoying the action from the natural amphitheatre that is Bells Beach.
Event Wildcards and Injury Replacements Announced
With both Johanne Defay (FRA) and Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) withdrawing from the remainder of the 2025 season, they will be replaced by WSL Replacement surfer Nadia Erostarbe (ESP) and Ellie Harrison (AUS), respectively.
Three-time World Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) is continuing to recover from an ongoing injury and will be replaced by WSL Replacement Ian Gentil (HAW).
Today, Bells Beach hosted the Rip Curl and Victoria Trials, which would decide three more wildcard spots into the main event. The Rip Curl Trials were won by former CT competitor Morgan Cibilic (AUS), while the Victorian Trials were won by Carly Shannahan (AUS) and Xavier Huxtable (AUS). All three competitors will take on the world's best later this week when competition commences at Bells Beach.