Carissa Moore surfing in the 2025 Haleiwa Pro. Photo: Tony Heff//WSL
The last time we saw Carissa Moore surf in a jersey was in the quarterfinal of the 2024 Olympic competition at Teahupo’o. That was several months into a hiatus from the Championship Tour during her pregnancy and birth of her first child, so suffice to say, many fans have been eager to see what the four-time world champ and Olympic gold medalist would look like back in action. Moore’s return to competition finally came over the weekend at the HIC Haleiwa Pro and she posted some monster numbers right out of the gate. Not completely surprising given its essentially her home wave where she trains most days during the winter months.
Moore’s first comp wave scored a 9.33 in the women’s quarterfinal. She closed that same heat out with an 8.77 and a combined wave score of 18.10, but what might be even more impressive was her consistency and true domination throughout the period. Moore surfed five waves in the four-person heat and notched excellent scores on all but one. Zero signs of rust…
“I don’t know about being back, but it felt really good to put the jersey back on today,” Carissa said after her first heat. “It meant a lot to me just because I’ve been out of the jersey for a year and a half, and had my little one. It was really special having her on the beach and cheering for me for the first time ever, so it was really cool.”
Moore didn’t really slow down when competition resumed on Saturday. She advanced into the final with two more mid-eights and another excellent heat. The final featured two more CT competitors — Erin Brooks and Bettylou Sakura Johnson — as well as North Shore standout Moana Jones Wong. Again, Moore kept only excellent scores in her final heat total, with an 8.20 and a 8.4 on her last wave of the contest.
“Loved every part of the last few days returning to competition with a renewed sense of purpose and fresh perspective,” she said afterward.
Moore’s first three heats back after a two-year hiatus from the WSL and a year and a half since the Paris Olympics saw her post an 18.10 in the quarterfinal, 17.03 in the semifinal, and 16.6 in the final. Zero signs of rust.
