Stephanie Gilmore, Luana Silva bow out of World Surf League Championship Tour event in Raglan

Sunday, 17 May 2026

Italo Ferreira during his second round win over Seth Moniz.

Two of the star attractions of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour were bundled out on an eventful Sunday at Raglan, on day two of action in the New Zealand Pro.

Australian legend Stephanie Gilmore, an eight-time world champion, and current world No 1 Luana Silva of Brazil both exited in round two to leave the women’s title race wide open.

Gilmore, 38, started this season with two first round defeats, before recapturing her best form to win her 34th Championship Tour event in the Gold Coast Pro at Snapper Rocks.

On Sunday she met her match in Sawyer Lindblad (USA) who posted 14.44 to Gilmore’s 9.34 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Lindblad will meet Australian Tyler Wright in the last eight, who eliminated Silva, the newly-minted world No 1 and 2024 world junior champion still chasing a maiden tour win after successive runner-up finishes.

Wright pipped Silva by the barest of margins - 9.00 to 8.93, as Silva had seven attempts for a second counting score to try and match or better her solid opening 6.00.

In one of the final heats of the day, 2021 Olympic gold medallist Carissa Moore showed her absolute class to eliminate fellow American Lakey Peterson.

Moore, 33, stepped away from the sport in 2024 to start a family and returned this year with one-year-old daughter, Olena, in tow. Moore was brilliant in finishing with an 8.83 and total of 15.33, to Peterson’s 7.50, and looks hard to beat from here.

In the other women’s quarterfinals, Gabriela Bryan (USA) will meet Alyssa Spencer (USA), while Australian Molly Picklum meets Bettylou Sakura Johnson (USA).

After Saturday was called off due to small, weak waves, competition resumed early Sunday morning with the swell having bumped back up for the biggest surfing event to hit New Zealand waters.

Brazilian supporters Daphne Fariai and Maxine Espinoza cheer on their compatriots.

The day started with the second half of of the 16 men’s round-two heats, which saw Brazilian reigning world champ Yago Dora get his first taste of action.

And on the favoured left-hand break that suits his goofy-foot stance, the 29-year-old didn’t disappoint, posting the highest overall score of the event to date with 17.76, to comfortably oust South African Luke Thompson (10.34), the man who had beaten Kiwi wildcard Tom Butland on Friday.

Dora, who was runner-up in the season-opening event at Bells Beach in Victoria and sits sixth in the championship standings, hasn’t surfed at Raglan before, but impressively needed only two waves to post that total, too, as the judges awarded him 8.83, then 8.93.

“It felt so good, it’s like historical reparation going left,” he quipped on the host broadcast soon after his impressive display, with this the only high-performance left-break wave on the tour.

“I’m just really stoked to be here, it’s just an amazing place, not only the wave, but the people, the nature, everything. It’s such a good vibe here, and it’s been a really cool week here so far.

“Today was really fun, the waves are nice and steep, just keeps going, giving you sections. It’s just fun to play with it, I try to bring variety into it, and make everything look seamless.”

The one upset in the men’s round-two action came with Brazilian No 5-ranked Samuel Pupo (10.33) knocked out by American Cole Houshmand (11.67), who at No 27 in the standings, advanced to the top 16 for the first time this season.