Breaking: Filipe Toledo Withdraws From 2024 CT

Filipe Toledo, the 2X reigning world champion and one of the best high-performance surfers of his generation, is withdrawing from the remainder of the 2024 WSL Championship Tour after citing the strain of competing on his mental health.

He plans to return to competition in 2025, and the WSL has granted him a wildcard for next year. His slot on the CT will be replaced by Ramzi Boukhiam. Filipe still plans to represent Brazil at the 2024 Paris Olympics at Teahupo’o this summer. 

Filipe, who has been open about mental fatigue from competing in the past, announced the decision on Instagram on Sunday. 

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His decision comes after two other world champions announced they would be stepping away from the CT this year—Stephanie Gilmore (who will also return in 2025) and Carissa Moore (who may have just surfed her last CT heat).  

Filipe’s lackluster heat at the Pipe Pro and subsequent event withdrawal due to purported food poisoning had keyboard warriors in both camps up in arms over the past week. But he has inarguably become one of the most successful surfers on the tour over the past decade. He has won 17 events and is the first Brazilian to win back-to-back World Titles (2022 and 2023). Filipe, who qualified at 17 years of age, has been on tour every year since without taking a break, all the while building a family.

According to a source, this decision was not sudden and weighed heavily on him for the last two months, and is centered primarily on his family. Filipe is a proud father who wants to spend time with his kids at home and hates missing memorable moments while on the road. He was reportedly “feeling like shit” before the event, and the heat put him over the edge. Per the source, Filipe plans on heading to Tahiti before the Olympics to absorb some heavy-water technique from Matahi Drollet, a fellow Hurley star.

There’s nothing like a fun surf to clear the head, and Filipe is intent on taking a few trips this year to get his mind right. Not unlike Stab’s upcoming film Zipper, which has a section with Filipe and Chippa Wilson playing a game of aerial HORSE in sublime Nicaraguan peaks.

Given Filipe’s prowess at Lowers over the past two seasons, his withdrawal opens up a massive opportunity for someone to step up in September. The obvious question: Who’s winning the Final Five now?