Italo Ferreira has undoubtedly been the most dominant rookie on the world tour thus far. Following a string of top-ten finishes, including an impressive third-place at the Oi Rio Pro, Italo is heading into Teahupo’o sitting in a comfortable 9th-place. He’ll have to suffer a series of massive shockers to be in any real danger of falling off tour. But from what we’ve seen from the Brazilian so far, the 20-year-old isn’t going anywhere—not for a long time.
Hailing from Baia Formoso – a very fun right-hander in Northern Brazil – Italo has developed an immaculate back-hand that has seasoned vets taking notes while he’s in the water. He’s proved his back-hand tail wafts to be unrivaled, but how will Italo fair on the grinding lefts of Teahupo’o? Something tells us – and by something we mean a 5th-place finish in Fiji – he’ll do just fine.
