BURLEIGH HEADS, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) – Less than a week after the completion of competition at Bells Beach, the 2025 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) will now head north to Queensland for the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro Presented by GWM, which will run from May 3 – 13, 2025. It will be the first time an event of this size has run on the Gold Coast since 2019, and this year’s action will take place at the iconic Burleigh Heads, one of competitive surfing’s most historically significant locations.
The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach witnessed two new winners ring the Bell: Jack Robinson (WA) and Isabella Nichols (QLD). Robinson and Nichols are both residents of the Gold Coast and will be feeling right at home when Stop No. 6 begins at Burleigh Heads this weekend. Even after his shock Round of 32 elimination, Italo Ferreira (BRA) managed to hold onto the Yellow Leader Jersey heading into Burleigh. The 2025 form surfer Gabriela Bryan (HAW) will come into the event ranked World No. 1 for the first time in her career, as she moved past reigning World Champion Caity Simmers (USA) on the rankings.
Burleigh Heads Will Host World’s Best for First Time in Over a Decade
Part of the Gold Coast World Surfing Reserve, Burleigh Heads is steeped in competitive surfing history and has been hosting international surfing events for around 50 years. A super high-performance right-hand point, Burleigh is known for long, stretched-out walls for big carves and hollow tubes. Breaking just off the famous cobblestone headland, this location is a perfect one for both surfers and surf fans.
With plenty of energy expected off the Gold Coast for the coming weeks, there will be no shortage of great waves for the event, which will most likely get a start from early in the window which opens this Saturday, May 3.
Pictured: Eight-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) will make a one-off return to CT competition as an event wildcard this week at the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro Presented by GWM. Credit: WSL / Andrew Shield
Eight-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore Set to Compete in Her Hometown as a Wildcard
Eight-time World Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) will return to the competitive arena as a one-off on the Gold Coast, replacing Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), who is out for the season. It will be the first time Gilmore has competed since the last event of the 2023 CT season. Although this isn’t marking her return to full-time competition, the offer to compete in an event she has won an unprecedented six times was too good to turn down.
“I’m super excited to have this opportunity to get back in the jersey for the CT’s return to the Gold Coast,” Gilmore said. “I’ve been enjoying my time away from Tour, but I’m still a competitor at heart, so I am really looking forward to clicking back into that mindset and testing myself after some time away from competition. It’s so close to home as well, so it’s really a no-brainer. I’m definitely not as in tune with Burleigh as I am with Snapper, but it’s still a perfect right point, so I feel like it’s a spot that suits my style. It will be cool to see everyone work out a new wave on Tour, so hopefully, it delivers some of the perfection it’s known for. It will be my first time competing at Burleigh since I was a junior, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro Wildcards and Replacements Announced
While Gilmore will replace Weston-Webb, Nadia Erostarbe (ESP) will replace Johanne Defay (FRA), who has withdrawn from the remainder of the season while she prepares to welcome her first child.
Ian Gentil (HAW) will once again replace three-time World Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA), who is continuing to recover from an ongoing injury.
Moroccan representative Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) has had to withdraw from the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro due to a knee injury he sustained at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Boukhiam will be replaced by Australian Jordan Lawler (AUS), who is the third-highest-ranked Challenger Series surfer available and not already in the event.
Bonsoy team-rider, former CT surfer, and winner of the Gold Coast Challenger Series event in 2022, Callum Robson (AUS) has been awarded the event wildcard for this year’s Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro.
32 of Gold Coast and Queensland’s most promising up-and-comers, plus a few professional surfing icons, will be given the chance to compete for a spot amongst the world’s best at this year’s event, this Friday at the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro Trials that will run at Burleigh Heads. One male and one female will gain entry into the main event by winning this one-day competition.
For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com
