The Women’s CT Will Expand To 24 Surfers In 2026

Throughout history, the Stoics emphasized the importance of perseverance, resilience, and maintaining a positive mindset in the face of life’s challenges.

One contemporary Stoic keeps this sentiment alive, proclaiming: “Keep trying, keep trying!”

His edict echoes the hopeful cries of keyboard combatants who endeavor, event after event, to tweak the Championship Tour to their liking by proxy.

And through all the displeasures, the setbacks, the cuts, and the forcefully fabricated end-of-year exhibition, it’s reasonable to assume that someone at the WSL’s sole function is scrolling through the internet’s vast comment repositories to unearth new improvements for their three-tour system — a Senior Comment Section Trawler? 

To prove they’ve been taking criticism constructively, the WSL has just announced an expanded women’s field for the CT in 2026. Its roster, which will still be composed of 18 total surfers before the cut in 2025, will increase by six to accommodate 24 of the world’s best competitive surfers in the following season.

“I’m stoked to see the numbers grow,” says 2024 World Champ Caity Simmers. “Women’s surfing is so special. I want to see more of it and I think a lot of other people do too. I’m really looking forward to having more of my friends on Tour. I think the world deserves to see how epic their surfing is and how hard they charge. I’m really happy that they’ll get more opportunities to go for it.”

Under the new structure, the 2026 field will include the Top 14 surfers from the 2025 CT, the top seven (as opposed to this year’s five) qualifiers from the 2025 Challenger Series, two WSL Seasonal Wildcards, and one Event Wildcard. This also means that only three women will be missing the cut this year, with most surfers being able to secure a seat when the music stops. 

As women’s surfing evolves — with a more compelling roster, a growing fanbase, and extensive parking lot debates about whether the women’s tour is now more interesting than the men’s — it’s only logical to expand the female field. Women’s performances and progression are undeniably at an all-time high.

“It’s what everyone wants to see,” said 15-year CT veteran Sally Fitzgibbons. “Growing the tour is the next logical step in that natural progression. I’m so stoked that it’s happening.”

When the WSL announced equal pay for men and women in 2019 — “becoming the first and only US based global sports league to do so,” — critics quickly pointed out that women typically surfed fewer heats than men while taking home the same paychecks. The WSL has now invited those critics to eat muffins.

But if parity is truly the goal, why not consider trimming the men’s tour down from 36 to 24? Sixty surfers per event (in 2026) will mean more heats, longer waiting periods, and a heftier bill — a bit of a dilemma for the revenue-draining corporate powers that be.

The 2025 CT kicks off on January 27 at Pipeline, where, last year, Caity Simmers opened her World Title campaign with a fairytale win over the perforated reef, overtly claiming it “for the f***ing girls!”.