Female surfers are dominating the surf world, with many experienced and fresh faces battling for the World Title over the past decade. We take a look at the World Surf League’s top five ranked female surfers in the WSL Championship Tour, starting from the fifth and ending with the first position; get the lowdown on each one!
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Sally Fitzgibbons
Surf Achievements
World Surfing Titles In the Women’s WSL Championship Tour: No World Titles just yet, but Fitzgibbon's reliable history in competitions is one to watch!
Liked for her determined and dedicated nature Sally Fitzgibbons has always come close to winning and from 2010 to 2012 she was ranked second place in the World Championship Tour. She is also set to be a provisional Olympic athlete competing in surfing for the Tokyo 2020 games.
She impressed the crowds at the fresh age of 18 when she raced her way through the Qualifying Series by stealing the first five events making heads turn with her fiery ability and performance in the sea.
Background and Personal Life
Born in Australia, Fitzgibbons didn’t start as a surfer, despite her natural and exhilarating talent when on a board. Oh no, she actually had other athletic dreams and wanted to pursue her skills in football and running. While at High School, she became an accomplished middle-distance runner, achieving the status of national champion.
Stephanie Gilmore
Surf Achievements
World Surfing Titles In the Women’s WSL Championship Tour: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018.
Perhaps one of the most legendary female surfers in the WSL, everything about Stephanie Gilmore is impressive and inspirational.
She holds seven World Titles to her name. Seven! It matches the achievements of one of the surfing world’s most favourite female surfers, Layne Beachley. Seven is the record which remains to be beaten, only to be achieved by Gilmore and Beachly, so it is an intense watch to see if these results will ever be conquered.
Set to compete in the Olympics this year, she is a provisional athlete for Australia in surfing.
Other surfing records Gilmore has defeated include being the first surfer, whether female or male, to win a World Title in her rookie season.
As her vast amount of surfing titles and records show, she means competition and winning against her must feel like a truly incredible, hard and well deserved achievement.
Background and Personal Life
Growing up in Australia, Stephanie Gilmore learnt how to dominate the waves while surfing in Coolangatta’s most famous and popular surf spots including Snapper. Both her attitude and style are both graceful and sophisticated, meaning her waves do all the talking.
In the first part of 2017, Gilmore moved to LA to pursue her creativity as a musician as a way to refresh herself in competition. It proved successful as she won her seventh World Title in 2018.
Lakey Peterson
Surf Achievements
World Surfing Titles In the Women’s WSL Championship Tour: None as of yet, but she is an impressive surfer with much potential to become a winner.
Competing in surf competitions at a young age, the surfer accomplished the incredible achievement of the first female surfer to do an aerial manoeuvre while competing at the age of 14! When she was 16, she gained a position on the Championship Tour as a wildcard.
Always just short of winning a World Title, Lakey has had many close encounters with the dream to be a surfing champ. Her closest was in 2018 when she ranked second place.
Background and Personal Life
Peterson hit the surf scene at the age of five during an incredible around the world trip with her family. When returning, she threw herself into other sports, mainly tennis and football. However, her love of tennis rackets was swapped for her desire to be in the ocean when she was 12.
Caroline Marks
Surf Achievements
World Surfing Titles In the Women’s WSL Championship Tour: None yet, but it’s only a matter of time!
Let's begin with her most impressive achievement. At the early age of 15, Caroline Marks swooped the title as the youngest female surfer to qualify for the Women’s Championship Tour.
In her first WSL Championship, she finished in an impressive seventh place overall and bagged the title of Rookie of the Year. In 2019, she completed her tour second place to Carissa Moore meaning she qualified as a provisional athlete for the USA for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
With so much under her belt at such a young age, seeing where she will go is truly exciting and one to look out for!
Background and Personal Life
Growing up in Florida, Mark’s childhood was an extremely active one. In constant competition with her brothers, she learnt how to surf strong and fiercely.
Moving to California due to a business opportunity of her brother, she became known in the San Clemente line-ups. She then competed in national NSSA competitions and achieved titles for both the girl’s and women’s divisions, the ISA World Title and finally reaching the Qualifying Series in 2017.
Early this year, Marks wowed everyone as she seemingly effortlessly mastered the tube at Teahupoo, one of the heaviest, glassiest and dangerous waves in the world.
Carissa Moore
Surf Achievements
World Surfing Titles In the Women’s WSL Championship Tour: 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019.
Hawaiian born Carissa Moore has an array of impressive achievements all by the humble age of 27. Winning four World Champion titles, she is a fierce force in the sea and currently ranked as the top female surfer of the World Surf League’s Championship.
Moore gained the opportunity to potentially compete as a USA surfing competitor at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics when her place was secured after her WSL Championship win last year in 2019.
Background and Personal Life
From Honolulu, Hawaii, Moore started surfing since the young age of five years old when she accompanied her Dad in the seas of Waikiki. From then, as she says, ‘I was immediately hooked.’
By the time she was 16, she had won 11 NSSA amateur titles. In 2010, she qualified for and became a professional competitor in her first Championship Tour. Only one year later, she won the World Title aged 18.
As if her life couldn’t get more impressive, she married her high-school sweetheart, Banan co-founder Luke Untermann. How lovely!
Other Personal Accomplishments
Carissa Moore is renowned for her sunny persona in and out of the sea. She has dedicated her name to many amazing projects including giving her first-ever winnings from her New Zealand Championship Tour event to the local boardriders club. She is also responsible for creating the non-profit organisation ‘Moore Aloha’ to help young women and girls to ‘follow their dreams’ and positively grow through surfing.
Want to know more about Carissa Moore; why not watch Peter Hamblin’s film, Riss?
Who’s your current favourite female WSL Championship Tour surfer and who would you like to see win next? Why not let us know on our social media channels: we would love to hear your thoughts! Are you buzzing to get in the sea this summer? Take a look at our amazing range of summer suits, including our top selection of women’s shorty wetsuits!