Yolanda Hopkins Makes Surfing History, Clinching Portugal’s First Women’s CT Spot

Even if autumn swells have started to cool the Portuguese coast, the country’s surf fans have plenty to keep their pulse racing. Over in Brazil, Algarve-born Yolanda Hopkins stitched her name into national sporting lore by winning the Saquarema Pro and, with that single result, clinching a ticket to the 2026 Championship Tour—the World Surf League’s top shelf. It is the first time a Portuguese woman has booked a full season among the sport’s elite, and the ripple has already travelled from Rio to Ribeira d’Ilhas.
A breakthrough carved in Brazilian sandbars
On an overcast afternoon at Itaúna Beach, the 27-year-old unleashed a pair of searing rides—7.33 and 5.83—for a heat total of 13.16 that Spain’s Annette Gonzalez Etxabarri could not match. The triumph was wrapped in emotion. Hopkins had arrived knowing that a semi-final berth would be enough to ensure qualification, yet she pushed the envelope anyway, turning a mathematical certainty into a statement win. “I tried to keep calm,” she said later, still dripping salt water. “The lineup was tricky and I’m used to shallower European breaks, but not worrying about conditions actually freed me up.” The victory ties her for first on the Challenger Series leaderboard with France’s Tya Zebrowski, cementing what is already a career-best season.
Why the milestone resonates at home
Portugal has fielded men on the CT before—Tiago Pires and Frederico Morais are household names—but the women’s side had never broken through. Hopkins’s feat therefore knocks down a symbolic wall that has stood for decades. Surf schools from Sagres to Matosinhos expect a surge of enrolments, while tourism boards are eyeing fresh marketing angles ahead of next spring’s MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal in Peniche. Industry insiders say that a local female star on the CT could lift sponsorship revenue for events on national soil by 15-20 %, a welcome boost for regions that rely on shoulder-season visitors.
The long road to Rio’s podium
Hopkins’s overnight success was years in the making. In 2024 she missed CT promotion by 1.06 points—a heartbreak that might have derailed lesser athletes. Instead she rebuilt, posting a runner-up in Ballito and consecutive semi-finals in Ericeira and Saquarema earlier this year. Coaches credit her deep-water fitness work in Aljezur and a partnership with Australian shaper Luke Dorrington, whose boards have added crucial speed in flat sections. The cumulative effect was evident in Brazil, where she out-paced opponents wave after wave.
Reading the scorecard
For those less familiar with surf judging, a heat’s tally comes from the best two waves, each marked out of 10. Hopkins’s 7.33 sprang from a vertical backside snap into a foam climb, finishing with a controlled re-entry. Judges rewarded the power and variety. Her backup 5.83 arrived late in the heat, effectively shutting the door on Etxabarri. Conditions were far from postcard perfect: waist-to-head-high peaks, stiff side-shore wind and a merciless inside section. Yet the Portuguese surfer’s ability to manufacture scores in mediocre surf underscores why analysts believe she will handle the CT’s demanding mid-season cut.
Voices from the lineup
Praise poured in within minutes. “Enorme orgulho!” wrote Frederico Morais on Instagram, calling Hopkins a trailblazer for every kid who drags a board across the sand. Tiago Pires, the nation’s first CT competitor back in 2007, described the moment as “historic” and highlighted her work rate—“first in the water, last out.” The Federação Portuguesa de Surf issued an unusually effusive note, with president Gonçalo Saldanha predicting the achievement will “catapult our women’s programme to an entirely new tier.” Social feeds quickly filled with young groms posting videos under the hashtag #VaiYoli.
Two more tests before the dream tour begins
Although her main goal is already secured, Hopkins will still paddle out at the Lexus Pipe Challenger in Hawaiʻi (29 January–9 February) and Newcastle Surfest in Australia (9-15 March). She sees those events as dress rehearsals for heavier reef breaks and a chance to fine-tune board quivers. Behind the scenes, her management is piecing together a budget that could top €60 000 once flights, baggage, coaching fees and accommodation across 5 continents are factored in. Talks with domestic brands are ongoing; insiders say that a naming-rights deal could close before Christmas, easing the financial swell.
What 2026 could look like for Portugal
Should Francisca Veselko (currently 4th) or Teresa Bonvalot (12th) also clinch CT spots, Portugal might field its largest squad ever, injecting local pride into each stop of the tour. Supertubos would transform into a carnival if Hopkins paddles out wearing the coveted CT jersey on home sand next March. Even without additional qualifiers, experts believe her single victory has already shifted the centre of gravity in Portuguese surfing. As one coach put it, “Kids now know the ceiling is higher than we thought.” Hopkins, for her part, says she is simply “excited to keep the momentum.” The rest of the country will be watching every set wave with her.