Punta Roca delivered the cleanest day of the contest on Saturday morning. A 5–7ft south swell arrived overnight with light offshore wind that held until 11am. The quarterfinals ran in the morning window and finished before the wind shifted onshore. Eight heats, the bracket pruned to four men and four women, the finals tomorrow.
The day's biggest surprise was Brisa Hennessy's win over Carissa Moore. Hennessy — racing on a wildcard after a quiet first half of the season — has been the standout women's surfer of this event. She posted a 9.07 on her second wave of the heat with a clean three-turn combination ending in a tail-high air reverse that the judges scored with the rare absence of a split panel. Moore countered with an 8.10 and could not find the second wave she needed. Hennessy advanced 17.40 to Moore's 15.95.
Men's Quarterfinals
Heat 1: Felipe Toledo (BRA) def. Connor O'Leary (AUS), 16.84 to 13.10. Toledo opened with a 9.10 on a long Punta Roca right that he rode to the inside section before exiting clean. O'Leary's best was a 6.95. Routine for the defending champion.
Heat 2: Italo Ferreira (BRA) def. Jack Robinson (AUS), 18.34 to 16.27. Heat of the day. Ferreira's 9.67 on the last exchange of the heat — a backhand combination that included two full vertical snaps and a closeout floater on the inside section — flipped the result with under three minutes remaining. Robinson had been ahead by 1.50 points before the wave. Ferreira's heat total of 18.34 is the highest in the event so far.
Heat 3: Yago Dora (BRA) def. Griffin Colapinto (USA), 14.50 to 13.80. A tactical heat with both surfers waiting for the second-priority wave through the middle of the window. Dora's 8.30 on the closing exchange — a long ride with a strong inside-section turn — was the difference. Colapinto's repeated mid-section airs scored well but never aligned with a complete heat-defining ride.
Heat 4: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) def. Ethan Ewing (AUS), 15.75 to 14.20. Igarashi found the cleanest line of the heat with a 9.00 that included a stand-up barrel section in the middle of the wave — rare for Punta Roca on a south swell. Ewing's 8.45 came in the heat's first ten minutes and could not be matched.
Brazilian men's surfers swept the semifinal positions: Toledo, Ferreira, Dora, and Igarashi. The first three are all Brazilian; Igarashi is the lone non-Brazilian in the men's semi. The geometry of the upcoming semifinals — Toledo vs Igarashi, Ferreira vs Dora — sets up a possible all-Brazilian men's final.
Women's Quarterfinals
Heat 1: Caitlin Simmers (USA) def. Lakey Peterson (USA), 16.10 to 11.65. A dominant Simmers heat. The 19-year-old current world champion ridden three waves to scores above 7.5, leaving no opening for Peterson to find a heat-changing ride.
Heat 2: Caroline Marks (USA) def. Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), 15.45 to 14.30. Tactical. Marks's 8.65 on a mid-heat right that finished with a clean alley-oop air gave her a margin she defended through the final five minutes.
Heat 3: Brisa Hennessy (CRC) def. Carissa Moore (USA), 17.40 to 15.95. Heat of the women's draw, see above.
Heat 4: Molly Picklum (AUS) def. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 14.85 to 12.20. Picklum continues her strong 2026 season with another aggressive heat. Her 8.20 on a long right point ride with three connected turns was the standout score.
The women's semifinals: Simmers vs Picklum, Marks vs Hennessy. The first three are previous Tour winners or current world champions. Hennessy is the wildcard story.
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Join ZealZagFollow us on InstagramThe Conditions for Day 5
The west swell arrives overnight and will combine with the residual south swell to give Punta Roca its highest-energy day of the contest tomorrow — 6–8ft, possibly larger on sets. The forecast holds offshore winds through the morning window. Finals are scheduled to begin at 8am local time, with both men's and women's semifinals running first and finals to follow if the window holds.
Carlos Muñoz — the long-time Punta Roca local who has been part of the WSL forecast team this week — described the incoming conditions as "as good as Punta gets in June." Forecasters are confident.
The race finishes Sunday. For the El Salvador surf-life destination guide focused on Las Flores and La Bocana, see our El Salvador surf guide. For Day 3 coverage from Punta Roca, see our Day 3 field report.
