Return of teh Queen: 8-Time World Champion Stephanie gilmore is Returning to the CT
The womenS Championship Tour is set to be electrified with the return of a legend.Following Carissa Moore’s recent declaration, 8-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore will be back on the 2026 CT full-time, having secured a season wildcard from the WSL. Gilmore stepped away from full-time competition in 2024 to pursue freesurfing, explore new surfboard designs, and launch a tequila brand.
“I’m really excited that I’ve accepted the 2026 WSL Championship Tour season Wildcard,” Gilmore stated.”The last few years,I’ve enjoyed time off to do some exploration and other things,but I’m looking forward to heading back to the CT in 2026,and seeing how I compete against the young talent on the Tour. I’m mostly excited just to see how I go in these challenges again. When you step away from competing full-time, you can really switch off, and it can be hard to get back into that headspace, but I’m excited to feel that energy and that challenge again. I’m definitely excited to get back to all of those locations.”
Gilmore, who will be 38 when the tour resumes in April 2026, boasts an extraordinary record of 34 CT event wins - second only to Kelly Slater. Despite her already remarkable achievements, she believes there’s still room for improvement.
“I look back on my time on tour and all of the events that I did well at and my performances and think, ‘I definitely could have surfed better there,'” Gilmore explained. “Then there are places like Pipeline and tahiti and Fiji that are such thrilling places to surf, and to be able to go and compete there in grate waves is part of the goal for me to do well in these locations where I don’t have great results yet. The whole schedule looks like so much fun, and I’m really excited about it all.”
The prospect of seeing Gilmore and Moore battle alongside rising stars like Molly Picklum and Caity Simmers promises thrilling competition. Her first event is slated to be at Bells, a location where she has previously claimed victory multiple times.
And the excitement doesn’t stop there. sources suggest more former world champions may be planning their own returns to the CT. Stay tuned for further announcements.
