Surfing | Marks Seals Second MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Title As Ferreira Banks Second Place

American surfer Caroline Marks was the class act in solid four-to-six-foot surf at Supertubos to claim her second MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal title in Peniche as Brazilian Italo Ferreira retained his men's 2025 World Surf League lead after finishing second.

 

Marks advanced through the women's draw in impressive fashion by taking out Australian Isabella Nichols in the Round of 16 and France's Johanne Defay in the quarter-finals, then edging out Australia's Molly Picklum by a score of 8.53 to 7.50 to book a final against Gabriela Bryan, who accounted for Canada's Erin Brooks in a semi-final thriller.

Wave selection was key in the shifting lineup of Supertubos, 2019 winner Marks, 23, and first-time Portugal finalist Bryan banking two mid-range scores early in Sunday's final before both surfers made mistakes, opting for waves that did not offer them open faces to improve their scores.

After securing her seventh win at the highest level, the 2024 Olympic champion from Florida revealed: "It wasn't the prettiest Final, but we'll take it. It was really challenging, but winning feels so good, I'm so pumped. The last couple of years, it felt like I was building momentum in the second half of the season, so to start off with a win and just be really consistent to be in the Finals Day for every event so far has felt really good. It feels really special to share this one with my dad. He doesn't come to many events, so to have him here is really good."

Bryan, 22, said: "It wasn't the best Final, but it was really good to share it with Caroline. She's just such a good human. Hopefully, we get to share a few more this year. I had an amazing time in Portugal, and we surfed all kinds of conditions so I'm stoked I made it to the Final."

Reigning WSL champion Caitlin Simmers narrowly lost out to Brooks in the quarter-finals 12.67 to 12.40, however, the American holds on to the Yellow Leader Jersey overall heading into the next El Salvador stop.

Watch Caroline Marks HERE

Over in the men's event, Brazilian João Chianca bowed out early on with American Griffin Colapinto narrowly losing out in the Round of 32 as Japan's Kanoa Igarashi, Italian Leonardo Fioravanti and South African Jordy Smith saw their event come to an end in the Round of 16 stage.

Australian Jack Robinson was no match for Brazil's Yago Dora in the quarter-finals as Ferreira made his way through on the other side of the draw with wins over Frenchman Jorgann Couzinet, Australian Joel Vaughan and Indonesian Rio Waida before holding his nerve in the semi-finals to edge past American Barron Mamiya 11.04 to 9.93 and book a final against impressive compatriot Dora.

The final saw the two Brazilians go all out for the title win with Ferreira banking the highest single-wave score for a huge frontside air before Dora included a touch of creativity to his backup ride that put him in front of Ferreira, which the 2019 World Champion could not respond to.

Dora, 28, said: "Last season, I had two Finals and it felt like I was the in-form surfer of the event, but I ended up falling short in the end. I wasn't going to let this one get away. It's always so hard surfing against Italo. He always seems to do what he needs to find the win."

Watch Italo Ferreira HERE

Ferreira, 30, said: "It was a long week, and I was really confident, but I made a few mistakes in the Final. It's always a pleasure to compete against Yago, congratulations to him. I love this place, I have a lot of good memories. We still have a long season ahead, so let's keep it going."

Ferreira's excellent start to the 2025 WSL season sees him retain the Yellow Leader Jersey overall heading into the Surf City El Salvador Pro across April 2–12 where Marks is the back-to-back defending champion.

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