A Girl Born In 2011 Is Leading The Challenger Series
Meanwhile, Levi Slawson + Sawyer Lindblad bag a $20K US Open check and a spot in the top 10.
At one time, many years ago, Paul Fisher prowled the sand of Huntington Beach, shouting unsolicited coaching advice at Kelly Slater through a megaphone. He juggled interviews with the hordes of women who gathered on the beach, slavering for a glimpse of the surfers who, in that particular cultural moment, had been elevated to the status of quasi-celebrities. Through it all, as he yelled and screamed, cackled and sneered, not even for a second did he look out of place.
Fisher’s no longer with us. He’s moved on from this life. Traded surfing for the seats of private jets, now a globally adored disk spinner/wrist flicker in Ibiza, a few degrees of separation from the Kardashians.
The US Open of Surfing has changed too. Less gimmick, these days. Less salivating fans.
But where does that leave it now? What, exactly, is it?
Now it’s… well, it’s a surf event. A very serious one, less for the waves, more for the qualification points.
While the week’s real highlights are still probably happening in the extracurriculars outside the comp, Sawyer Linblad and Levi Slawson just alchemized Huntington sand into gold. If you need a barometer for the Challenger Series’ gravitas, just look at Sawyer: one event entered, 10,000 points, and though she’s already got her spot on the CT locked for 2026, she’s now lounging comfortably in qualification territory.
But let’s rewind, briefly, and break down how they got there.
Women’s Final
A battle of teenagers, and now the rankings have a new face at the top. Sawyer claimed her second US Open win, but the real story is perhaps the 14-year-old she faced in the final, who now sits at number one on the women’s CS.
In the opening event of the year, Stace Galbraith made a rather bold proclamation while commentating on the broadcast: only 8 spots would be up for grabs by the end of the CS season. Two were already locked in — Sal Fitzgibbons would obviously reclaim hers, and the other spot would go to Tya Zebrowski.
A daring call, given it is her first season on the Chang, but not one absent of logic. Last year, she won the first QS comp she entered, and finished second in the next. Fast-forward to three events into the 2025 CS season, and Tya is sitting at number 1, all but guaranteed a spot in next year’s big leagues. At 14. Stace the commentator, Stace the soothsayer.
Tya looked to be storming her way to the podium in the final. Within the first 5 minutes, she slapped down a 12.34 heat total, corners folded, edges kissed, and already had her first CS victory request drafted. But that would be the last decent number she’d see.
Sawyer, meanwhile, spent the rest of the heat slowly creeping up, like a calculated stalker, until an exchange at the 20-minute mark flipped the math in her favour. Tya threw one last desperate shot in the final minute — a near-landed air-rev, which might’ve been a sign of what’s to come, but it wasn’t a sign of a Huntington trophy.
“My first win here got me onto the CT and set me up for my career, and this one just feels extra special especially after not making the cut,” said Sawyer. “I knew I could’ve made a charge for the Final 5 if I didn’t get cut, so it feels like this is a good redemption.”
Men’s Final
The last men standing, Levi Slawson and Mateus Herdy, just so happen to star in Logan Dulien’s much-hyped final Snapt instalment, which coincidentally premiered right alongside the event. Maybe it was that brush with cinematic fame that lit a fire under them. The two co-stars found themselves in the final together.
This isn’t Mateus’ first waltz with Chucky. The man practically resurrected Mat’s last run on the CS after he’d been face-down in the dirt, staring down another tour lap as a sponsorless wanderer, abandoned by Red Bull and Quiksilver the year prior. “It’s insane to do the CS without a sponsor,” he told Stab last September.
But no more. Last week, he tattooed his nose and inked a deal with Julian Wilson’s Rivvia Projects. A little ink, a little financial backing, perhaps a little whisper in the ear from Jules himself, and Mat finds himself in the final.
But Mat, with his fresh nose job, seemed a little too eager for stardom. He caught 18 waves in the final, 17 of them duds. He wanted to hammer his skull through the competition rather than dismantle it piece by piece. He wanted air, wanted something spectacular, but the sections were weak, soft as a first kiss, and he kept landing behind them, failing to find any projection to put him back in front.
Levi took a more conventional approach. Three to the beach, then repeat. In a fight that demanded patience, a fight both men floundered through with their fair share of priority errors, it was the consistency that won the day. No Illia knockouts, but by decision, Levi’s hand was raised, and the stadium erupted in a clamour of Californian approval.
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