Difficult conditions in Tahiti eliminate Yago Dora and Filipe Toledo from WSL
After the departure of Samuel Pupo, Brazilian surfers Yago Dora and Filipe Toledo were eliminated in the second round of the Tahiti stage, the seventh stop of the WSL World Tour, on August 9, 2026. Yago Dora, who occupies third place in the world rankings, faced defeat to the Hawaiian Seth Moniz, while Filipe Toledo was surpassed by the Japanese Connor O’Leary in a heat marked by very unfavorable sea conditions.
Immediately after the conclusion of the Toledo contest, the WSL organization decided to pause the stage, keeping the event “on hold” for 35 minutes. Shortly afterwards, a “day off” was declared for the remainder of the day, interrupting the competitions.
The next call for competitors in Teahupoo is scheduled for 2pm, with broadcast available on sportv channels and GloboPlay. Names like Italo Ferreira, João Chianca, Alejo Muniz, Gabriel Medina, Miguel Pupo and Mateus Herdy remain in contention for round 2. The women’s heats are still waiting to start.
The Tahiti stage of the World Surfing Tour has begun and is scheduled to end on August 18, 2026.
Yago Dora is eliminated from the competition after battle against Seth Moniz
Yago Dora’s dispute, started the day before against Seth Moniz and suspended with both athletes reset after ten minutes, was resumed. In a slightly more favorable maritime scenario, the Hawaiian secured victory with a total of 15.97 points against Yago’s 14.33. Moniz’s best waves were rated at 8.17 and 7.80, while Dora scored 8.00 and 6.33.
After the elimination, Yago Dora commented on the adversities encountered: “The sea is very difficult, besides being big, the conditions are complicated, a lot of wind and rocking. It’s a day of competing against nature, not so much against the opponent. It’s about being in the right rotation, positioning yourself well. Our heat came with very big waves for paddling, which would be good for a jet-ski, which reduced the opportunities. I’m happy with my performance, sad about the defeat, of course. I’m not ashamed of losing like I did. I managed to surf well, I position as I wanted in a complicated sea. It’s bad to lose. Seth is very good, Hawaiian, he grew up in this type of wave. I knew it would be difficult. I surfed well and still lost.
Filipe Toledo does not advance in heat with challenging seas in Tahiti
Then, Filipe Toledo entered the sea to compete against the Japanese Connor O’Leary. Faced with a scenario with the ocean in terrible conditions, the Brazilian surfer was unable to accumulate more than 1.63 points, with scores of 1.00 and 0.63, a direct reflection of the difficulty in finding surfable waves. Connor, in turn, recorded 2.13 and 1.93, totaling 4.06 and securing victory in a battery of scores that were exceptionally low for the competition’s standard.
Check out all the results from the second round in Tahiti
- Kauli Vaast (FRA) 13.50 x Crosby Colapinto (USA) 10.16
- Samuel Pupo (BRA) 5.00 x Alan Cleland (MEX) 6.00
- Yago Dora (BRA) 14.33 x Seth Moniz (HAV) 15.97
- Marco Mignot (FRA) 7.84 x Barron Mamiya (HAV) 9.07
- Filipe Toledo (BRA) 1.63 x Connor O’Leary (JAP) 4.06
- Italo Ferreira (BRA) x Luke Thompson (AFS)
- Liam O’Brien (AUS) x Jake Marshall (USA)
- Ethan Ewing (AUS) x Joel Vaughan (AUS)
- Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) x Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR)
- Morgan Cibilic (AUS) x João Chianca (BRA)
- Kanoa Igarashi (JAP) x Alejo Muniz (BRA)
- George Pittar (AUS) x Cole Houshmand (USA)
- Gabriel Medina (BRA) x Kelly Slater (USA)
- Jack Robinson (AUS) x Callum Robson (AUS)
- Griffin Colapinto (USA) x Rio Waida (IND)
- Miguel Pupo (BRA) x Mateus Herdy (BRA)
Upcoming matches for the round of 16 in Teahupoo
- Kauli Vaast (FRA) x Alan Cleland (MEX)
- Seth Moniz (HAV) x Barron Mamiya (HAV)
- Connor O’Leary (JAP)
