WSL 2026 Is Finally Here: New CT Format, Pipe Finale and Superstar Wildcards Explained

The 2nd of September, 2025, seems a long time ago. In that time, the earth has done a half lap of the Sun, Donald Trump removed two heads of state, and the Blue Ghost lander became the first commercial vehicle to soft-land on the Moon. 

That date was also when the last waves were ridden in a CT event. On that fateful day, Yago Dora and Molly Picklum claimed their maiden World Title in Fiji. No other champs in history have had to wait as long to start their defence.  

Now, into the last month of the elite surfing hiatus, the WSL have finally finalised the CT and CS calendars and added a new International QS category. There is also an extended women’s field, a new ‘sudden death” format, changes and some of the most decorated wildcards in history. A lot to take in? Don’t worry, if you don’t know your sudden deaths from your seedings, or your wildcards from your weightings, here’s the up-to-date explainer for when it, finally, all kicks off at Easter.   

The CT By The Numbers: 9-Stop “Regular Season” and a By-Design Pipe Finish

It’s a 12-stop tour, with the first nine events featuring 36 men and 24 women. After that, the field will be reduced to 24 men and 16 women for the final two postseason events in Abu Dhabi and Portugal. Though the fact that missiles are currently being intercepted in the skies above Kelly’s pool in Abu Dhabi might be putting some doubt on that event, which is scheduled for October. 

A little confusingly, for the season end at Pipeline, the full men's and women's rosters from the beginning of the season will come back to compete. The Pipe Masters will carry extra weight with 15,000 points on offer, or 50% more than a standard event. The top 8 surfers going into Pipe will also get advanced seedings, all aimed at manufacturing a World Title showdown as late into the event as possible. 

The Schedule: A long Australasia Leg and Portugal Chases the Sun

Bells, Margies, the return of Snapper and a new event at Raglan (promoted at the expense of J-Bay) will all start between 1st April and May 15. That means after the long wait, it will be back-to-back-to-back-to-back for the revamped Australasian leg. El Salvador and Rio are scheduled for June, the Pacific Leg of Fiji and Tahiti takes out August, with just Trestles in September. That leaves, airspace and regime change permitting, Abu Dhabi, and the move to November for Portugal. That makes sense, as the Rip Curl Portugal Pro, held for the last three years in March, has all featured wild Atlantic storms, foul weather and inconsistent waves. That just leaves Pipe, with its 150% weighting in December. 

The Men’s CT: Sudden Death from the Start, but Top Seeds Gain Protection 

The biggest change, with a delicious irony, is that the non-elimination rounds have been eliminated. For the first nine events (aka the “regular season”) the opening round will feature 4 x 2-person sudden death heats made up of the bottom five seeds plus the wildcards. Positions 6-10 from this year's CS qualifiers will start in this round. CS Seeds 1-5 will be placed directly into Round 2. This will protect the top seeds from facing the year-long wildcards like Gabriel Medina and Ramzi Boukhaim, and the event wildcards, who tend to be location specialists. The rankings on the CS after the Newcastle event will also have added weight. The chance to skip that first round will be crucial for the new intake. 

The  2026 Women's CT Format: More Athletes, Gilmore and Moore Lurk Dangerously

The 2026 Women's CT format has been expanded from the previous 16 surfers to 24 athletes. Again, the Top 8 seeds skip to Rd 2, while seeds 9 - 24 will start in RD 1. This will include WSL wildcards Carissa Moore and Stephanie Gilmore, whose combined 13 World Titles will carry some serious reputation weight in the first round. Those two will be joined by surfers seeded 9-22, plus two event wildcards. All seven CS qualifiers will feature in this opening round. 

The Challenger Series: 5 Events Locked In, Pipe for the Locals

The CS has reverted to a five-event series, held in five countries, at the locations of Ballito, Huntington, Sao Sebastian, Ericeira and Newcastle. You’ll notice that Pipeline doesn’t feature. That permit, tentatively scheduled for January 29 - February 8, will now host a QS 6,000 Regional event. 

Three New “International QS Events”: But CS Surfers Can Only Count One Result

A new category, occupying the space between regional QS and CS, called International QS 6000 has been introduced. So far, three of these have been confirmed at the back end of the year at Saquarema, Cloud 9 in the Philippines and Jinzun Harbour, Taiwan. The WSL are however, hoping to add two more. These are open to any surfers, both regional and international, and can count towards a surfer’s CS total. However, only one International QS can replace a surfer’s lowest CS result. As it stands, five results will count for the CS, so CS surfers may opt to travel to these International QS if they are easier to get to, to try replace a poor result, chase prizemoney, or just get shacked. The WSL call it a “bridge, not a shortcut,” and an “elite crossover opportunity” where one exceptional result can make a difference.