First, qualifying for the 2026 World Tour. Two days later, the first victory of her career on the Challenger Series circuit.
Yolanda Hopkins won the Saquarema Pro this Saturday, capping off a dream week in Rio de Janeiro in the fifth and penultimate round of the Challenger Series circuit, where the spots for the 2026 World Tour are determined.
After qualifying for the final the day before with a victory over Australian Sally Fitzgibbons, Yolanda competed in the decisive heat against Basque Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri this Saturday morning. With a powerful surfing style, the 27-year-old Portuguese surfer scored a total of 13.16 points, compared to her opponent’s 10.20.
The victory at the Saquarema Pro, precisely one year after missing out on qualifying for the women’s world elite by just one heat at the same venue, put Yolanda at the top of the rankings, tied with 14-year-old Frenchwoman Tya Zebrowski. They will be competing for victory in the 2025 Challenger Series circuit, but will need to reach the semifinals in the remaining two events to improve their current record.
After the season began with a victory for Francisca Veselko in Newcastle, Australia, Yolanda, who had already finished as a runner-up in Ballito, South Africa, achieved Portugal’s second victory of the season on the Challenger Series circuit, and its third triumph in history, following Teresa Bonvalot’s victory in Sydney in 2022.
With Yolanda Hopkins already qualified for the 2026 World Tour, Portugal could still qualify two more surfers for next year’s women’s elite. Francisca Veselko arrived in Brazil in 4th place in the rankings and remains there with 20,615 points and a low result to change in the upcoming stages. Teresa Bonvalot, on the other hand, dropped from 8th to 12th place, but has 16,125 points and is only 295 points behind the top 7, which completes the qualification.
On the men’s side, the scenario is different, with Frederico Morais being the best Portuguese, in 60th place, but already more than 10,000 points away from the top 10 in the rankings, which qualifies for the 2026 World Tour. Afonso Antunes appears in 67th place, in the same position as Kikas.
The Challenger Series circuit will only return to the water in early 2026, for the final stages of the fight for qualification for the world tour. The famous Pipeline tubes in Hawaii will host the penultimate stage, with the circuit concluding in Newcastle, Australia, where it began.
+info: ANSURFISTAS.COM
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