Italo Ferreira and Caitlin Simmers conquered the inaugural Surf Abu Dhabi Pro.
The reigning world champion, Simmers, defeated Molly Picklum, while 2019 world champion Ferreira claimed victory over Rio Waida.
With their wins, Simmers and Ferreira both leave the UAE placed number 1 in the world.
Enabled by the machinations of the Kelly Slater Wave Company (KWSC) technology, clean three-foot lines of swell reeled through the Surf Abu Dhabi arena.
Though small elements of wind came into effect at different points of the day, the mostly neutral canvas provided near equal opportunity for the remaining eight men and eight women to push through the pressure in hopes of claiming the historic wins.
Since turning around his 2024 season with a victory at the Tahiti Pro, Italo Ferreira has remained a force to be reckoned with.
After being in danger of the mid-season cut, the 30-year-old placed runner-up to the world title for the second time by season's end and is carrying that energy straight into 2025.
A semifinal finish at Pipeline and the victory today see the 2019 world champion reunited with the yellow leader's jersey after a long absence.
Having placed runner-up in the 2023 Surf Ranch Pro, today's victory in the same KSWC technology felt like a big personal victory for the Brazilian.
"Wow, I was super excited," Ferreira said.
"I woke up today, and I was watching, moving, and preparing my mind for those runs. In a wave pool, it's always super exciting when I have a wave or a chance to perform."
"You're always going harder and bigger, and that's what I did, you know. I was so glad to have those moments and have all my team behind."
Ferreira's 10th CT win seemed inevitable throughout finals day.
In a repeat of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gold medal match, Ferreira, the gold medalist, took a dominant quarterfinal win over Kanoa Igarashi, the silver medalist.
Jack Robinson brought a stronger challenge in the semifinals, but Ferreira seemed unflappable, powering through every run with higher and higher scores, building to a 17.37.
His speed and attack through the lip earned high numbers on nearly every wave, and it only took his first two waves of four to leave Rio Waida in an impossible situation in the final.
Simmers Back to Number 1
Still, only at the start of her third season on Tour, Caity Simmers appeared in her ninth final and earned her seventh CT victory.
Barely a week ago, the defending world champion placed runner-up at stop number 1 of the 2025 CT season, the Lexus Pipe Pro, and already sits with a strong lead in the rankings.
The style and commitment of the 19-year-old's surfing within the pressured environment of the pool was a sight to behold, reaching a pinnacle in her semifinal match against Gabriela Bryan.
The contrasting styles of Bryan's raw aggression and the smooth flow of Simmers pushed the boundaries of performance in the Surf Abu Dhabi basin in completely different ways.
Simmers earned the highest single-wave score of the event, a 9.57, after opening the wave with a winding roundhouse cutback that set a completely unique line.
But the final against Molly Picklum was where the most tense drama played out.
"I feel like when Molly and I are out there, we just laugh at each other. It's pretty fun," Simmers said.
"The most pressure you're going to feel is when you're in a wave pool waiting for your wave, and you know exactly what you need, and you know you're going to get the opportunity to get it, but you don't know if you're actually going to like, it's pretty much you got to just use skill."
"It's not luck like it usually is where you're like, 'Well, the ocean could send me this wave.' It's like the pool is going to send you this wave, and you gotta get the score."
"And so I think that's what makes it very special for me."
In a repeat of their most recent match-up in the semifinals of the opening event of the season, Simmers and Picklum raised the performance levels.
The Australian had a decent opening but left plenty of opportunity after going incomplete on her second wave.
As with the rest of her match-ups on finals day, Simmers started exceptionally strong and set a high bar.
Picklum improved on both of her second waves, putting the requirement back on Simmers to do the same.
Going for broke, the Californian ripped through a phenomenal right but fell early, leaving it to the very last wave.
A completed backhand blitz from Simmers left the two standing in the shallows, waiting for the score that ultimately landed in Simmers' favor.
"All I can think of is really just how thankful I am, honestly," Simmers said.
"I'm thankful for surfing, for just being able to ride waves. It's like the funnest thing ever, I really enjoy it."
"And I'm thankful for Molly because she makes me surf my best, and I feel like we both do that to each other, so that's always fun."
And yeah, I'm thankful for my friends and my family and all the love I got around me."
2025 Surf Abu Dhabi Pro | Finals
Men
- Italo Ferreira (BRA) 17.27
- Rio Waida (INA) 14.50
Women
- Caitlin Simmers (USA) 16.10
- Molly Picklum (AUS) 15.70
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