Carlos Muñoz and Brisa Hennessy finished in positions #33 and #17 respectively, a situation that temporarily places them outside the mid-year cut.

The fourth CT stop concluded and Australian power and knowledge on the right-hand waves of Bells Beach came to the fore once again.

The four finalists were Australians, Ryan Callinan and Ethan Ewing in the men's category and Molly Picklum and Tyler Wright in the women's. They managed to decipher their series and reach the final heats of the tournament, leaving Ewing and Wright as the big winners.

For Ethan Ewing, this victory has a special significance, as his mother had won this tournament in 1983 and his dream had always been to also add his name to the list of winners of this prestigious Australian event.

Based on the opinions of some surfing experts, the judging of this tournament was not up to par, with scores sometimes deviating from the established criteria for the heat in the water. This led to doubts and uncertainty among the athletes. For example, Filipe Toledo appeared somewhat annoyed and confused by the score of 9 given to Jackson Baker in the quarterfinal round.

Another example was the heat of national Carlos Muñoz, who showed great surfing and many considered the Costa Rican to have qualified along with Kelly Slater, however, the scores given by the judges were not fair and left the local from Esterillos Oeste out of the event.

Costa Rican surfers Carlos Muñoz and Brisa Hennessy finished in 33rd and 17th place respectively at the 2023 Rip Curl Bells Beach Pro. Due to these results, both athletes are now out of the mid-year cut and will have to fight in the fifth and final stop before the cut to continue in the second half of the tour and secure immediate requalification for the 2024 CT.

Otherwise, they will have to complete the Challenger dates in search of CT 2024 qualification through this route.

CT's next stop will be from April 20th to 30th in Margaret River, Australia.

Written by: Enrique Hernández