"I'm excited to feel that energy!"
In news just thrown onto the expanse of my lovely late twenty-first century, designed in Sweden built in Bangladesh, desk, Stephanie Gilmore, the retired eight-time world champ who recently pivoted into the hard liquor biz, has announced she’s gonna jump back on tour in 2026, aged almost forty.
Stephanie Gilmore’s Return to Competition
“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.”
Stephanie Gilmore retired a couple of years back, making the decision on the eve of her thirty-sixth birthday, Gilmore following the five-time champ Carissa Moore into the sunset. Ironically, Carissa Moore has also announced she’s gonna be back in 2026.
If you’ll remember, the zenith of Stephanie Gilmore’s career came in 2022 when she dominated Finals Day, starting in fifth place, mowing through all-comers before beating Carissa Moore in the winner-take-all surf-off.
Six months later, and after much reflection, Gilmore said she felt guilty about the way she won.
I’d only ever won titles in the other fashion where you accumulate points through the season and the winner at the end is who has the most points. In this fashion you just try and make the top five and on the very final day the world’s best battle it out and that moment crowns a world champion. You could have a bad day and Carissa just wasn’t on that day. A big part of me still thinks the world champion should be crowned over all the different conditions, surfing is about being able to compete in all different kinds of waves and being successful all through the year.”
But it’s not as if surf fans have been completely deprived of Stephanie Gilmore’s sublime lines.
Around the same time as her May reappearance, Stephanie Gilmore headlined Rip Curl’s massive PR counter-offensive amid the wreckage of their trans misstep, the Kathamndu-owned surf brand signing Gilmore on an eight-year contract worth between six and ten mill.
“To be able to partner with Rip Curl on a deal that not only for myself, but for women in sport is something that’s truly groundbreaking, just it feels right,” said Stephanie Gilmore.
“You can align yourself with brands for certain things but unless it really feels authentic and true to who you are, then the audience can feel that. It feels right to me, and I’m super happy with that.
“It’s an iconic deal. It’s historic. And there’s something about that, that makes me feel proud to know that I’m allowing this space to open up for the women of the next generations – and also for the companies that we’re working alongside to realise that this is a fantastic way to celebrate female athletes and it can be very healthy and successful for both of us.”
As for the 2026 return for Stephanie Gilmore.
Smart play or Slater-esque in its futility?