Photos: Emma Sharon, Pat Nolan // WSL
The Trestles Pro has come to a close, with Bettylou Sakura Johnson and Yago Dora claiming wins. The eighth stop on the 2025 tour took place in a venue that has up until recently played host to the now-axed final five format (a change we got some surfers’ opinions on during the competition). To celebrate the occasion, the break delivered picturesque five-to-seven-foot waves, on which the competitors put on the kind of show you only ever see at Lowers.
Photo: Pat Nolan // WSL
The final women’s heat was a matchup between Bettylou Sakura Johnson and Molly Picklum. In pumping conditions, Picklum was the first to break the seal with a leisurely 6.0 wave. In response, Johnson immediately went with the nuclear option. An aggressive ride landed her an 8.0 score out the gate, immediately topped by a 9.0, netting a 17.0 total and leaving Picklum to try to cobble together near-perfect scores in order to stay in the game. Though she did manage to score an 8.23 halfway through the heat, the time ended with her nearly impossible task remaining unfulfilled, and Johnson earning the second CT win of her career, the first being the Gold Coast Pro in May.
“Overall, I’m just super happy how I was able to overcome each heat and just take it out, and I’m so psyched to bring this one home,” Johnson told the WSL. “Honestly, the secret is just staying happy and being surrounded by your loved ones. The support this year has been incredible and I’m just super grateful. It was just finding my rhythm and picking my waves, and just pushing as hard as I can, but knowing the waves as well. Lowers has been incredible, and it’s so great to have the memories back when I was 12 years old. Keep it there [in second gear], maybe get into fourth later on in the season, but there’s nothing to lose right here. We’re just trying to get to the Final 5. That’s the goal, but I’m enjoying the process and taking it wave by wave. That’s the only thing you have to do is keep it simple.”
As far as rankings go, Johnson’s win finds her breaking into the final five, just above Isabella Nichols, who fell to the fifth-place slot. The changeup unceremoniously kicked Tyler Wright onto the wrong end of the cutoff line, dropping two places to seventh, just behind Caroline Marks. The number one, two and three slots are still occupied by Gabriela Bryan, Caitlin Simmers and Molly Picklum, respectively.
Photo: Emma Sharon // WSL
Meanwhile, the men’s competition came down to a matchup between Yago Dora and Kanoa Igarashi. Yago instantly took to the air with characteristic zeal. Mere seconds into the final heat, he launched into an absolutely ridiculous full-rotation punt that earned him a 9.53 and a devastatingly authoritative lead. Igarashi was no slouch himself, scoring a 7.77 and an 8.30 with a series of aggressive hacks, and a standout kerrupt flip for good measure. However, in the end, Dora’s aggressive air show proved undeniable. The Brazilian ended with a 17.90 total and a well-deserved win, his second this year after the Pro Portugal.
“It’s unbelievable, I waited a long time to have the opportunity to surf this event, and to do it my first time competing is incredible,” said Dora. “I want to thank God. Especially in the Quarterfinals, he sent me that last wave and that was like the booster for me to win this event, and I just can’t believe it. I’m over the moon right now after winning this event. Now I’m going to Brazil, which is like my best event on Tour, and I’m so happy. I want to thank my team, my dad right there, everyone, all my sponsors, and the people of San Clemente too, you guys always receive me with open arms, and you give me my little spot in the lineup, so it’s pretty amazing that we got to come here and get these amazing waves and today was my day.”
In the rankings, Jordy Smith still manages to cling on to the yellow jersey, despite his round of sixteen loss to San Clemente local Cole Houshmand. Unsurprisingly, both Dora and Igarashi rose a rank, now occupying the second and third slots, respectively. This change displaced Italo Ferreira two positions, down to fourth. Barron Mamiya remained in place to fill out the final five.
Next up is the VIVO Rio Pro, where the gang will all meet up again in Saquarema, Brazil, for the ninth event of the season.
