The women’s world title race has finally opened up and it is refreshing to say the least. With the world title having been firmly in the hands of Steph Gilmore and Carissa Moore for the past decade, we were getting a little tired of seeing the same old (brilliant) thing. Thankfully, Tyler Wright has smashed through the trend, and as the clear stand out of the year, she is set to take her first world title.
At just 22 years of age, Tyler takes a spot on my list of ‘people the same age who have achieved way more than me,’ and this is without considering that she has fiercely held a spot in the top five since 2011 (when she was 17, great). Tyler set a high standard for this season, taking out four event wins so far – at the Gold Coast, Margaret River, Rio and just recently at Trestles.
Tyler, being born into an incredibly talented surf family (siblings Owen, Mikey and Kirby all have serious surf cred) has likely been surrounded by encouragement and support from the start. The close connection between the Wrights has helped Tyler draw strength from the challenges faced by her brother, Owen, after his traumatic head injury at Pipeline last year. It would have been fair to assume that Tyler would lose her momentum and energy in devoting time to Owen’s recovery. Instead, Tyler seems to have kicked into a higher gear, almost as if it’s her duty to represent the Wrights on the WSL stage with Owen sidelined.
In her post-win interview at Trestles, Tyler revealed that as a consequence of his injury, her brother “couldn’t really remember” her three wins of the season, so she said she would go out and “win another three” for him. This stirring sentiment has given way to Tyler’s incredible drive this year. As she reflected upon her recent win at Trestles, Tyler also touched on the groundswell of support she felt. “I’ve been in world title races before but it feels so much different, I feel so much more comfortable and confident. It’s just flowing for me and I just feel good. I’ve got so much love behind me.”
In the wake of Trestles, with veterans Steph and Carissa still yet to claim an event win, the number crunchers went crazy as they soon realised Tyler could secure her first world title this coming week at the Cascais Women’s Pro in Portugal. Whilst it would no doubt be incredibly exciting for Tyler, it would be a bit more fun for us poor viewers if the competition wasn’t sealed with two events still to go.
That said, there are six contenders who can technically take the title, but realistically it’s a two surfer race between Tyler and Courtney Conlogue. Courtney won at The Rip Curl Pro Bells and has consistently put up solid results throughout the season, and shouldn’t be underestimated as Tyler’s main threat, with Carissa hovering close behind. However, if Tyler wins in Portugal, everyone else is knocked out of the running, and Courtney would be the only contender left who could challenge Tyler in the title race, provided she makes it past the quarter-finals.
With the waiting period for the Portugal event kicking off tomorrow, Tyler paddles out with the confidence of her four event wins behind her, but also haunted by the shadow of never-before making it to the final at Cascais. On the other hand, Courtney, although she has a huge 7000 points to make up, enters the comp knowing she is the defending champion.
The forecast is promising and it looks like we may see one helluva fight for the title.
Courtney Vs Tyler in Cascais. Let’s hope it goes down as a classic.
