When five-time world champ Carissa Moore announced that she was returning to the WSL’s Championship Tour at the start of the year after having a beautiful baby girl, her intent was not to contend for a world title. Or maybe it was, and she did a remarkably good job keeping it secret. As she explained it to SURFER, her primary goal was to travel the world with her young family and wrap up her career on her terms. A victory lap, if you will.
Then she started winning heats. Then she started winning events. All of a sudden, she was at the top of the leaderboard, and the “what if” question started swirling. I’ve had the privilege of knowing Riss since she was 13 years old, and to be totally honest, this best I’ve ever seen her compete. Not only is her surfing absolutely on point right now, but with her adorable little girl providing an abundance of inspiration (and entertainment), her motivation and mental game are stronger than they’ve ever been.
And now, with the resurrected Pipe Masters the final event of the season this December, the women’s world title race has come down to a showdown between Moore, Molly Picklum, and Caity Simmers. It’s exactly the title race surf fans wanted. Time and again, I hear it: “The women’s tour is the most exciting thing in surfing right now.” And with three world champs vying for the 2026 title, it’s a dream scenario.
Related: Fireworks at Cloud 9 as Gabriel Medina and Caity Simmers Win Big
Picklum currently holds the yellow jersey with 53,695 points, just 545 points ahead of Moore (53,150). Simmers sits in third with 49,610 points, 4,085 points behind the defending world champion. After a season of shifting momentum, three former world champions are headed to the North Shore with it all on the line.
Picklum took the top spot on the leaderboard with a win at the Rip Curl Pro Portugal, where she dispatched Simmers in the final. The affable Aussie is chasing back-to-back world titles and has already demonstrated a knack for rising to the occasion at Pipeline, where she made history in 2024 by becoming the first woman to post a perfect 10.
Moore, meanwhile, has turned her return from retirement into a remarkable run at a sixth world title. The five-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist has been a legitimate contender all season and is just an eyelash away from Picklum in the rankings, every heat matters.
Simmers, the 2024 world champ, has the steepest climb, but arrives with momentum after winning the inaugural Philippines Pro at Cloud 9. Her 4,085-point deficit is a steep hill to climb, yet not insurmountable. She’s won at Pipe before, but this time she’ll have to hope that Picklum and Moore get tripped up somewhere early in the event.
The Lexus Pipe Masters, running December 8–20, has an extra-large 15,000 points for the winner, 50 percent more than a standard Championship Tour event. That increased weighting leaves all three women mathematically in contention, though Simmers will likely need to win the event and get some help from the two surfers ahead of her. Picklum and Moore, separated by a mere 545 points, could see the title swing on a single heat.
Three champions, the most iconic wave on the planet, and a season’s worth of ambition all come to a head in two months. Who’s going to be crowned world champ when the spray settles is anybody’s guess.
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