WSL World Tour Starts at Pipeline on January 29

Photo By @adventures_ofjess

After an abbreviated 2021 season and a three-month hiatus, the world’s best surfers are dusting off their jerseys this month and getting ready to battle it out for the 2022 world title.

While the world tour historically ended in Hawaii, the WSL adopted a new schedule last year that sees the tour start here on Oahu instead.

The first event of the season kicks off at Pipeline with a waiting period from January 29 through February 10, and the world’s best are already in town warming up. After an epic showing at Da Hui Backdoor Shootout last week, both world tour competitors and local wildcards alike are fired up to compete at the heaviest wave on the planet, and with the epic run of surf and pristine conditions we have had all month, there’s a good chance the waves will be firing for the event.

After Pipe, the second event of the season will be contested at Sunset Beach, which means that the rankings will be well-established by the time the tour leaves Hawaii. Based on his performances over the past few months (winning both the Haleiwa Pro and the HIC Pipe Pro), local phenom and two-time world champ John John Florence is the obvious favorite going into the first leg of the tour, and could be out to an early lead by the time the WSL leaves Hawaii and heads to Portugal.

After event number three at Supertubos in Peniche, there will be two events in Australia (Bells Beach and Margaret River), then the tour will return to G-Land in Indonesia for the first time in decades. Then a new event has been announced in El Salvador, which will see competitors contesting heats in waves that many of them have never surfed before.

The final leg includes events in Brazil, J-Bay (South Africa) and Teahupoo (Tahiti), followed by the WSL Finals at Trestles in San Clemente, California.