Two of female surfing’s most promising up and coming world class talent Sierra Kerr and Erin Brooks have been given wildcards into the Corona Fiji Pro. On the men’s side 11x world champ Kelly Slater will be joined by a yet to be decided trials winner, the WSL has announced.
All three will be looking to cause some serious upsets as Fiji is the last event which will decide who will compete in the WSL finals held at Trestles in September. While John John is the only surfer to punch his ticket for the final five, there is a 7,620 point difference between Griffin Colapinto in second and Gabriel Medina in eighth. This means either of the pair, as well as Jack Robinson, Ethan Ewing, Italo Ferreira, Yago Dora and Jordy Smith are all in with a chance of making it to finals day. They’ll all be hoping they don’t draw Kelly at a venue he has been victorious at four times. You know the GOAT will be happy to play spoiler and steal the headlines too.
The second men’s wildcard will be decided by the winner of the Fiji Trials, held between July 1 and 3.
On the women’s side, the crop of CT surfers should all be fearful of Erin and Sierra who have already proven they are not be messed with in waves of consequence.
Erin is currently leading the 2024 Challenger Series rankings by a considerable amount and looks nailed on for a CT spot next year. She is no slouch at frontside tube riding having previously beat Ian Crane and Nic Von Rupp at the 2022 Padang Padang Cup, proving she is one of the best in left hand tubes.
Sierra Kerr has to be one of the most barreled females on the planet, with clips of her popping up at places like Chopes, Indo and other heavy water waves. She’s also collected commendable contest results at the Vans Pipe Masters and more recently the QS events in Krui and Nias, both of which were pumping.
Fiji was already set to be a spectacle with the big blue open barrels of Cloudbreak returning to the CT for the first time since 2016 and the anticipated drama of the final five. Throw in some of the spiciest wildcards possible and you’ve got the recipe for a successful and entertaining event.
