By Dan Walsh
Ethan Ewing’s world title tilt is in serious doubt after the No.2 ranked surfer fractured two vertebrae in his back when he wiped out at Teahupo’o.
World Surf League sources have confirmed to this masthead that Ewing, Australia’s leading male surfer in 2023, was injured at the fearsome Tahitian break on Wednesday (AEST).
Ewing fell during a practice session at Teahupo’o in solid, six-foot waves ahead of the upcoming Tahiti Pro, the last tour stop before next month’s finals at Trestles, California.
Ethan Ewing’s promising 2023 season is in serious doubt after a spill at Teahupo’o in Tahiti.Credit: Ed Sloane, World Surf League
The 24-year-old Queenslander was taken to shore after coming off at one of the world’s heaviest waves and taken to hospital on the island, where he was diagnosed with a fractured L3 and L4 vertebrae.
It is unclear at this point if Ewing will be cleared to compete in the season-ending final five format in September.
Ewing’s career-best campaign has already qualified him for the Trestles event and, as it stands in the world rankings, he is only trailing defending champion and Brazilian veteran Filipe Toledo.
However, Ewing’s withdrawal from the Tahiti Pro will almost certainly see him drop further down the rankings. Even if he does recover for Trestles, it will put him at a disadvantage given the finals format of a series of knockout heats where the winner progresses to take on the next highest-ranked surfer from the season’s points tally.
Ewing’s rise in 2023 has been forged off the back of a historic win at the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach in April, following in the footsteps of his late mother Helen, who won the same event 40 years earlier at the age of 18.
Two runner-up finishes at the Rio Pro in Brazil and Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa solidified Ewing’s No.2 ranking.
His second place at J-Bay also meant Ewing became the first Australian surfer to qualify for the Olympic Games, which will see the men’s and women’s events return to Teahupo’o as part of Paris 2024.
Ewing’s withdrawal from the Tahiti Pro, and potentially the world title race, could offer compatriot Jack Robinson a chance to sneak into the finals at Trestles.
Jack Robinson tucks into a heaving Teahupo’o barrel during the 2022 Tahiti Pro.Credit: Damien Poullenot/World Surf League
Robinson, who finished last year’s season with a No.2 ranking, has had his own injury battles throughout the past 12 months, competing for much of 2022 with what was eventually diagnosed as long-term appendicitis.
Ankle and knee injuries, and underwhelming mid-year results since returning to the water, have left Robinson in eighth-place and needing a strong showing at Teahupo’o to make the finals.
Reigning women’s world champion Stephanie Gilmore sits in a similar boat with just one finals slot up for grabs in Tahiti.
Gilmore is currently ranked seventh behind fifth- and sixth-placed American rivals Caitlin Simmers and Lakey Peterson.
Australians Tyler Wright (second) and Molly Picklum (fourth) have already sealed both their finals spots. The Tahiti Pro window opens on Saturday (AEST).
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