Filipe Toledo and Tatiana Weston-Webb Complete the Brazilian Sweep at Main Break

For the second* time ever, two Brazilians have taken out the mens/ladies double at a WSL World Tour surfing event. Tatiana Weston-Webb and Filipe Toledo were both incredible in 4-6ft offshore waves at Main Break Margaret River today. 

The day was an emotional one with Tatiana dedicating the win to Bronte Macaulay and her family, who tragically lost Bronte’s brother Jack over the weekend. Filipe also cracked into tears in his post heat interview, dedicating his win to his son, wishing Koa the happy birthday he couldn’t be there in person for. Bringing the trophy home as Koa’s present is definitely the next best thing. Filipe was also one of the first surfers of the morning to acknowledge the Macaulay family’s loss in his post-heat interview after the quarterfinals, right as Bronte and Tatiana hit the water for their semifinal match up.

That heat hung heavy across the ocean as hundreds of locals showed up to support Bronte. Every wave the West Aussie took was met with cheers and hoots – testament to both her solid surfing and amazing personal strength to show up and put in her best. When Tatiana eventually won the heat, Tati came in crying too, unable to hold it together for a post-heat interview. No one wanted to see Bronte bow out of the event. Not even Tati. 

Like the professional she is though, Tatiana reset for the final and came out swinging. It was as if all the emotional challenge was over for her. With that mental hurdle of the semis overcome, aiming for her first ever WT win, against a 7x World Champ, looked breezy in comparison. Tati’s first proper scoring wave was an 8.5 from a huge backhand hammer on the difficult end section. Her next best wave was a 7, which she got for another committed end section hack. Tati just barely hung on amid a mountain of whitewater to come out with a keeper. It was almost like the perfect metaphor for the day, her being engulfed in turbulent seas before finally emerging with a smile. If she hadn’t made that wave, Tati wouldn’t have won either. Steph Gilmore put up a massive 8.4 at the end to get close to the win, but it wasn’t enough in the end.

On the men’s side of the draw, the final was an epic match up between Jordy and Filipe who both built throughout the event for their best performances on the last day. Jordy was all power, Filipe all spark. Jordy opened with an 8, performing true blunt-force man carves to set the pace early. Then, Filipe stepped up a gear. He surfed what should have been a 6-point wave into an 8.33 by jamming lightning turn after lightning turn. His very next wave was a repeat, but on a set, where he racked up a 9 under Jordy’s priority. Jordy was left needing a huge score. The big South African found a heaving stand up pit on one, mimicking The Box which was firing but inconsistent across the channel all day. If the event had moved there with long heats, the result may have gone differently. As it was, just a lone barrel wasn’t enough, with the wave shouldering out afterward and not letting Jordy get the big finish he needed.

At the end, a victorious Filipe was met by a rampaging group of Brazilians at the bottom of the stairs, including fellow winner Tatiana. It’s pretty inspiring to see the camaraderie that group have on the beach and in the athlete zone. Together they’re a true force to be reckoned with, the way they support each other. You have to wonder why other countries with significant numbers on tour don’t do the same. At a level of surfing where every little percentage point and edge matters, it’s definitely some energy in the right direction, especially in what’s usually an individual sport.

Brazilians now have a local crowd behind them wherever they are in the world. Case in point, no Aussie male has made it past the quarters all year on home soil, yet three different Brazilians have won back-to-back here (Italo at Newcastle, Gabriel at Narrabeen and now Filipe in Margaret River). With Brazilian-born, Hawaiian-raised Tatiana winning this event here and finaling in her last show on the women’s side, it’s a massive signal to the rest of the world. Momentum matters.

These wins shoot Tatiana up to second on the rankings and Filipe into 3rd overall, firmly placing them into the final five discussion for the last event at Trestles this year. As we go into the Rip Curl Search event at Rottnest Island, it will be interesting to see if anyone can stop the Brazilian Storm’s path of destruction. With no spectators allowed at the actual event site, their cheer-squad mentality could come into play more than ever. 

*This article originally claimed it was the first time a male and female Brazilian had won an event. This turned out to be untrue, as Filipe Toledo and Silvana Lima won the Trestles event concurrently in 2017.