Tatiana Weston-Webb looks back at Olympic appearance and looks forward to WSL finals

Tatiana Weston-Webb is fresh off her first Olympic appearance while getting ready for the WSL final in California. 

The final event of the World Surf League season is quickly approaching. For the five men and women involved in the final, the pressure to walk away as the champion is building. Tatiana Weston-Webb is no stranger to pressure, she is one of the best surfers in the world and she just got through competing in her first Olympics. Weston-Webb is ready to take on this challenge, even if it is a brand new format this year.

For the 2021 season, the WSL threw a wrench in the mix when they decided to shake up the protocol and change the format in which a champion will be crowned. Historically the champ of the WSL tour was based solely on points and when a surfer was mathematically able to clinch, they were named champion. Now there will be a final one day, winner takes all with the top five best surfers of the year. This change excites Weston-Webb who sat down with FanSided to talk about it.

“When they first announced the new format, I was really excited because there hasn’t been so much change in how they crowned a world champion for a long while in surfing,” Weston-Webb said. “So I think that this new format really gives other surfers opportunities even though if they made a few more mistakes, then whoever’s in first place. They have the opportunity to beat them on the day. I think that’s really exciting. I don’t know, I’m really excited. I think it’s gonna be really cool.”

Not only is the format different but the location is different as well. For the last contest of the tour, the surfers usually head to Hawaii. This year the final event is being held in Lower Trestles, California.

“I love lowers,” Weston-Webb explained. “I think it’s an amazing high-performance wave, especially because there’s right and left. And it’s lower California, which is I think a great place for surfing. Surfing has had so much history at that location in the past. So I think that it’s just going to add more prestige to the location and I think that it gives great opportunity.”

Weston-Webb is coming off her first Olympic appearance. It was the first year surfing was an Olympic sport and Weston-Webb has the pleasure of representing Brazil in the games. Now that the trip to Tokyo is behind her, Weston-Webb reflects back on the experience.

“The Olympic experience was incredible,” Weston-Webb said. “I think that during the event for me, I just couldn’t even tell like how prestigious of an event it was, because it just felt like another surf contest. But after I had lost, I went to the Olympic Village and that’s when I realized the severity of being at the Olympics when you’re surrounded by all these amazing athletes, people that have made history in other sports, I think the climate and the energy of being in the Olympic village was something that was almost tangible. We could feel the energy of everyone that so determined and focused. It was such a beautiful experience of being able to have surfing in the Olympics, for the first time was, I mean, it was history made for us and to be a part of that was super special.”

Weston-Webb along with the rest of the top five will be battling it out at Lower Trestles for the WSL tour championship next week. The dates etched out are between September 9 and September 17, the day will depend on optimal surf condition. The contest can be seen on the WSL Youtube channel.