MAJOR upsets highlighted another dramatic day of competition as the women’s Round 2 battles concluded at the Fiji Pro Presented by Corona Cero at Cloudbreak.
With the remaining rankings leaders finally getting their opportunity to tackle the challenging Fijian waves, the competition delivered significant surprises that continued to shake up the women’s field.
Portugal’s Yolanda Hopkins produced one of the biggest upsets of the round when she eliminated World No.1 Gabriela Bryan of Hawaii in Heat 5.
Hopkins made the most of the lingering Cloudbreak conditions, posting a combined heat total of 10.17 points to edge Bryan, who finished on 9.93.
The upsets continued when Costa Rica’s Brisa Hennessy took down reigning Australian World Champion Molly Picklum.
Hennessy, a former World Title contender, showed patience and composure in the slow conditions, making the most of her scoring opportunities to claim victory with 8.57 points. Picklum was unable to find the waves she needed and finished with 5.67.
The Round 2 victories provided another major boost for Lakey Peterson and Isabella Nichols, with both surfers reigniting their respective Championship Tour requalification campaigns after producing strong performances to advance.
Attention will now turn towards the decisive stages of the women’s competition, with an exciting quarterfinal lineup set to take centre stage at Cloudbreak.
The opening quarter-final will feature an all-Hawaiian showdown between surfing icon Carissa Moore and Bettylou Sakura Johnson.
