Last year’s WSL finalist Tatiana Weston Webb has taken to Instagram to announce a short departure from competitive surfing, citing physical and emotional burnout as her reason for downing tools in the short term.
Here’s what she said on Instagram:
“I came today to discuss something with you guys that has been on my mind for a while and it’s a pretty important decision in my life during a hard time. After two Olympic cycles and 10 years competing on the CT without missing an event, last year was amazing. I finished third in the world, got an Olympic silver medal, but recently after that I started feeling a lot of emotional and physical burnout. I’ve been sharing all of these emotions with them personally and privately. As an athlete who strives for perfection, who strives for the best version of themselves, who strives to continue to push the levels higher and higher year after year, there’s a moment where it really feels like you just kind of need a break.
“Even though I love what I’m doing and I love competing. My relationship with competition right now is just becoming a little bit unhealthy at the moment. In consultation with my psychologist, we identified that if we continued to compete it would lead to burnout. My team and I had to make a decision, which was not easy. It was really hard for me because it feels like I’m almost breaking up with the only version of myself that I know. We made a decision to step away from the CT for the rest of the year. I think this will be a really good thing because it’s not the end, it’s the beginning of the next chapter for me, and I know that I will come back stronger and more fired up than ever.”
The decision comes after the Brazilian has uncharacteristically struggled in the first events of the year and currently sits dead last on the rankings. She’s not the only competitive surfer to suffer from burnout in recent years, with the likes of Filipe Toledo and Gabriel Medina both taking time off to focus on their mental health.
What this means for Tati’s future on the CT remains to be seen. Steph Gilmore is already on an extended sabbatical and has been guaranteed a wildcard spot on the 2026 tour. Johanne Defay is also taking time off this season to have her first child. The final wildcard spot for next year will be decided in May.
We wish Tati nothing but the best during her time off and we hope to see her potent backhand attack and hard charging attitude in forehand barrels back on tour in the near future.
