Francisca Veselko wins surfing event in Australia

Portuguese Francisca Veselko won the Newcastle Surfest in Australia this Sunday, the first stage of the World Surf League (WSL) Challenger Series, with Teresa Bonvalot in third and Yolanda Hopkins in fifth.

The 22-year-old Portuguese surfer beat Australian Sally Fitzgibbons in the final, scoring 14.60 points, while her rival only got 12.20, in a decision that pitted two former junior world champions against each other.

“I am speechless. This is the best day of my life. I worked hard to be here, but this is a marathon and my dream is to reach the World Tour. It was incredible, especially to be in the final with someone like Sally Fitzgibbons, who is an example and a fighter,” said the Portuguese surfer.

Before facing Fitzgibbons, Veselko overcame American Kirra Pinkerton in the quarter-finals and then 14-year-old Frenchwoman Tya Zebrowski in the semi-finals of the opening leg of the 2025 Challenger Series circuit.

Teresa Bonvalot also performed well, finishing third in the competition after being defeated by Sally Fitzgibbons in the semi-finals, after beating Japanese Amuro Tsuzuki in the previous round. Yolanda Hopkins finished the competition in fifth place, after being beaten by European champion Tya Zebrowski in the quarter-finals.

The men's event, where the Portuguese Afonso Antunes and Frederico Morais did not make it past the second round, was won by the Australian Jacob Willcox, after beating the French Kauli Vaast, the reigning Olympic champion, in the final.

The Challenger Series circuit now heads to South Africa. From June 30 to July 6, Ballito will host the second of seven stops of the season. At stake are 10 men's and seven women's spots for the 2026 World Tour, where the women's circuit will be expanded to 24 surfers.