After a sabbatical year, Medina debuts in the WSL with a quiet victory

Gabriel Medina finally returned to compete in the World Surf League (WSL) in 2026, after a year away from competition. On Tuesday night (7), the Brazilian's debut was marked by a dominant and calm victory over Mexican Alan Cleland. The difference between the opponents' scores exceeded seven points.

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The Brazilian started ahead with a score of 4.33 in the first wave. Even with less impressive attempts later, he found a good opportunity to score 6.50. With this, Medina guaranteed a solid combination on his return to the world circuit.

On the other side, Cleland was unable to keep pace and recorded just 3.67 as his best score. The Mexican even recorded just this score throughout the heat. With a large advantage in total, the three-time world champion managed the remainder of the dispute with ease and confirmed the victory without being threatened.

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Final result
Gabriel Medina (BRA) – 6.50 + 5.60 = 12.10
ALan Cleland (MEX) – 3,65

Brazilians debut at Bells Beach

Current WSL champion shines without fear

Yago Dora opened his 2026 season campaign with a solid victory at the Bells Beach stage in Australia. In the ninth heat of the main draw, Dora faced fellow countryman Mateus Herdy, who is making his debut in the world surfing elite, with some ease.

In terms of comparison, Mateus still needed 7.01 to win the spot in the final minutes, however, without much help from the sea, the victory went to the owner of the yellow lycra. Interestingly, Yago's best score was exactly the same as the one received by Herdy during the qualifying round. On that occasion, the young Brazilian beat Australian Liam O'Brien by 13.24 (7.17 + 6.63).

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➡️ See what Yago Dora's WSL debut was like in 2026

Weight sequence in Australian waters

The 12th and 13th batteries had a green-yellow sequence of veterans. Among the Brazilians, Filipe was the first to fall into the water and delivered a high-level performance. Afterwards, Ítalo maintained his good performance and continued to cheer up the fans in Brazil.

Following the heats, Filipe Toledo stood out by taking control after scoring 7.33 in one of his waves and turning the match against Eli Hanneman, reaching 14 points in total. Ítalo Ferreira secured classification in an exciting contest, beating Australian Xavier Huxtable by just one tenth, after an impressive last wave from his rival in the final seconds.

➡️ See what Filipe and Ítalo's WSL debut was like in 2026

Other Brazilian names in surfing

In his farewell season, the experienced Alejo Muniz beat the American Cole Houshmand with a total of 11.56 and advanced to the round of 16 of the Bells Beach stage, in Australia. With this, the 36-year-old Brazilian joins Miguel Pupo, who had already secured a place in the next phase by beating Australian Joe Vaughan with a total score of 14.17.

➡️ See how Muniz, Pupo and Chumbinho debuted in the WSL in 2026

Hours earlier, João Chianca, aka 'Chumbinho', was eliminated in a tight contest against Jake Marshall, from the United States, a tormentor at Bells Beach last year. The Brazilian's final average was 10.64, while his rival scored 10.83.

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