Today, the World Surf League (WSL) released the schedule for the 2026 Championship Tour (CT) and shared the new event formats. Marking the 50th year of professional surfing, the combined men’s and women’s calendar, which includes an increased women’s field, will feature 12 events in total. Nine regular-season stops and two postseason events will culminate in a revitalised Pipe Masters that will close the season with a high-stakes, all-inclusive finale.
“These changes reflect our commitment to honouring surfing’s legacy while continuing to shape its future as the sport enters its 50th year,” said Ryan Crosby, WSL CEO. “With the updated formats, we’ll see higher stakes from day one, with every heat carrying real consequence throughout the season. Combined with iconic locations, the expanded women’s field, and Pipeline as the pinnacle, we’re building a Tour that better serves our athletes and fans, and leads the sport into its next chapter.”
2026 Championship Tour Schedule
Stop No. 1 – Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia: April 1 – 11
Stop No. 2 – Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia: April 17 – 27
Stop No. 3 – Snapper Rocks, Queensland, Australia: May 2 – 12
Stop No. 4 – Punta Roca, El Salvador: May 28 – June 7
Stop No. 5 – Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: June 12 – 20
Stop No. 6 – Jeffreys Bay, South Africa: July 10 – 20
Stop No. 7 – Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia: August 8 – 18
Stop No. 8 – Cloudbreak, Fiji: August 25 – September 4
Stop No. 9 – Lower Trestles, San Clemente, Calif., USA: September 11 – 20*
Stop No. 10 – Surf Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE: October 14 – 18**
Stop No. 11 – Peniche, Portugal: October 22 – November 1
Stop No. 12 – Banzai Pipeline, Hawaiʻi, USA: December 8 – 20***
*Last regular-season event
**Start of postseason, reduced field
**Full CT fields rejoin postseason surfers to compete for Pipe Masters Titles
The 2026 season is primed to deliver a thrilling World Title race from start to finish, offering a wide array of opportunity for the world’s best surfers to elevate the sport to new heights. Covering nine countries across nine months, the 12 stops offer a diverse mix of surf, from the heavy barrels of waves like Pipeline, Cloudbreak, and Teahupo’o, to high-performance hotspots like Lower Trestles, Punta Roca, and Abu Dhabi. Added to the perfection of Snapper Rocks and Jeffreys Bay is the wild unpredictability of Margaret River, Portugal, and Saquarema, with the storied history of Bells Beach kicking it all off.
The majority of the season will feature 36 men and 24 women, with the Tour narrowing to 24 men and 16 women after Stop No. 9 for the two postseason events, Abu Dhabi and Portugal. A surfer’s best seven of nine results from the regular-season will count towards their qualification for the postseason, while the final season rankings, and ultimately the World Titles, will be determined by a surfer’s best nine of 12 results.
The cumulative full-season rankings that will determine the World Champions will be heightened by the season closer at Pipeline, where the full 2026 men’s and women’s CT fields from the start of the season will all compete. Already one of the most prestigious Titles in surfing, an increased relevance will be placed on the Pipe Masters. With 15,000 points on offer (1.5 times the amount of a standard CT event), and the top eight men and women heading into the event seeded deep in the draw, pivotal moments in the World Title race are all but ensured to take place at the sport’s most revered location.
2026 Championship Tour Event Formats
A newly evolved Tour requires a reimagined format. The stakes will be raised from the very first heat of the 2026 season due to the removal of non-elimination rounds. Differing formats will be utilized for the men’s and women’s fields for regular-season events, postseason events, and the Pipe Masters, as outlined below, but ultimately, every heat of every event will be of utmost importance to a surfer’s standing on the CT.
Regular-Season Events
The format for regular-season events, Stops No. 1-9, will include 32 qualified men, two men’s season wildcards, and two men’s event wildcards; and 21 qualified women, two women’s season wildcards, and one women’s event wildcard.
Men’s 36 Format
Round 1 will feature four head-to-head heats, consisting of six seeded surfers [29-34], plus two Event Wildcards. Seeds 33-36 will be randomly selected to create different match-ups at each event throughout the season. Seeds 29-32 will be pre-seeded in their heats.
Round 2 will feature 16 head-to-head heats, consisting of seeds 1-28 and the winners from Round 1. There will be four fixed-bracket heats; the four heat winners from Round 1 will face the top four seeds in the event. Winners will advance to Round 3.
Round 3 will feature eight head-to-head heats, consisting of the winners from Round 2.
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the Final will follow.
Women’s 24 Format
Round 1 will feature eight head-to-head heats, consisting of 14 seeded surfers [9-22], plus two Event Wildcards. Winners will advance into Round 2 on a fixed-bracket system.
Round 2 will feature eight head-to-head heats, consisting of seeds 1-8, and the winners from Round 1.
Quarterfinals, Semifinals and the Final will follow.
Where permits allow, official practice days will also be offered to all Tour surfers. For every event, the day prior to the beginning of competition will include a five-hour window to cater for three brackets of 12 men’s surfers and two brackets of 12 women’s surfers. Should permits and conditions allow, a second official practice day will take place inside the competition waiting period.
While we await the 2026 CT kickoff, the 2025 World Champions are still to be determined. The Lexus Tahiti Pro Presented by I-SEA is the final event before the Lexus WSL Finals Fiji, where the World Champions will be crowned.
For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
