The next World Surf League (“WSL”) Championship Tour event moves to Supertubos, Peniche, Portugal for the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal event. First call dawn patrol begins March 25, 2025. The competition will feature dramatic barreling waves, which will set the stage for the top surfers in the world as they compete on this Championship Tour stop.
After the dawn patrol start, the event will run through March 25. The field features the sports biggest stars, including Caitlin Simmers and Itallo Ferreira. Simmers sits in first place for the women, and Ferreira leads the men heading into the Portugal championship event. (current WSL Rankings)
Australian Ryan Callinan looked forward to the Portugal event to boost his WSL ranking. Callinan currently sits in 27th place – five spots below the mid-season cut line. Unfortunately, disaster struck. The elite surfer suffered a broken bone at the Hawaii Lexus Pipe Pro. Callinan recounted that he felt a ”pop” in his knee. As he didn’t know the extent of his injury, he went on to compete at Surf Abu Dhabi Pro despite the pain.
The pain persited and Callinan looked into the matter, and was informed that he had fractured his fibula, which forced him to withdraw from the prestigious WSL event in Peniche, Portugal. ”Unfortunately, bones just take time to heal and I am withdrawing from the @wsl Portugal Event,” he wrote on Instagram. ”I’m so disappointed to be missing any event, but need to focus on healing to be 100% for the rest of the season and my future.”
Callinan was finding his groove in previous Tour stops. Callinan 17th in both the Lexus Pipe Pro and the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro competitions. While sitting out for this event hurts, taking some time off from the World Tour is what Callinan needs in order to return to competitve surfing. With hopes of making an appearance in El Salvador for Surf City El Salvador Pro in April, he appears to have accepted the dreadful situation and remains focused on making a full recovery.