Surfing - The world circuit within gliding distance for Tessa Thyssen

From 2026, the Women's World Tour (WT) will be expanded from 17 to 23 regular participants, plus one wild card (invitation) per event. Six extra places could make French surfers very happy, starting with Saint-Barthélemy's representative, Tessa Thyssen. In the antechamber of the elite (the Challenger Series) for several seasons, the surfer could take advantage of this expansion to move up onto the world circuit. Although the champion has never come close to the top 5 or even cracked the top 10 in the Challenger Series, she is undoubtedly one of the blue chips in this "second division", having climbed to 17th place in 2022 and 13th this year. What's more, she has put in some notable performances, with a final in Saquarema in 2022 and a semi-final in Ballito this year. However, Tessa Thyssen will need to be more consistent if she is to stay near the top of the rankings. Indeed, 16 of her 18 Challenger Series appearances have ended in elimination before the quarters.
For the time being, the Ajoe Reefer Surf Club licensee must secure her qualification for the Challenger Series. She is currently ranked 7th in the European Qualifying Ranking (QS), while only the top 4 (plus one guest) will be promoted. Nevertheless, given Tessa's performances at the end of the season, there's no doubt she'll be over-motivated at the prospect of qualifying for the world circuit throughout the coming competitions.