Teahupo’o was moody this weekend. It was big, but the conditions weren’t always great. There were high scores one heat and then…well, then there were no heats at all. Both Saturday and Sunday at the Tahiti Pro were interrupted and put on hold as conditions deteriorated, which wasn’t far from what we were told to expect coming into the contest window.
“Seven straight days of 10-foot-plus waves at Teahupo’o seems like a dream scenario for a live event, but this one is going to be a little hard to navigate due to the winds and strong peaks in the swells,” photographer Tim McKenna told The Inertia last week.
The highlight of the weekend arguably came on Saturday though. At 54-years young, 11-time world champion Kelly Slater put on a Championship Tour jersey for the third time since leaving the tour in 2024 (wildcard at the 2025 Pipe Pro and wildcard at the 2025 Trestles Pro), and he showed exactly what we all expected from him. In his round-one heat against Eli Hanneman, Slater put up a nine-point ride and the contest’s first excellent heat score (16.23).
“It’s sort of like riding a bike, but you forget how gnarly Teahupo’o is. You’ve got to just jump back on the horse out here. I won’t say I started out slow, but I definitely built,” Slater said. “I don’t have anything to prove here, but when you put the vest on and paddle out, you need to feel like you have something to prove, especially in waves like this. I also went out there trying to be relaxed and really in the moment. When you’re not in the environment of competition all the time, it’s not easy to stay in that mindset. I felt like I kind of locked back in during that heat.”
The performance set Slater up for a meeting with Gabriel Medina in round two (which was also interrupted on Sunday afternoon). The Tahiti Pro is already a must-watch contest for most surf fans. Slater vs. Medina in 2026 is definitely a must-watch. Hopefully Teahupo’o delivers when the horn blows.
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