@WSL/Tostee
The Corona Open J-Bay, the ninth stop on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT), is set to return to Jeffreys Bay after a two year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The world's best surfers will take on one of the world's most renowned righthand pointbreaks from 12 to 21 July 2022.
This year, there's even more at stake with a reduced field of 22 men and 10 women who will have made the Mid-year cut-off after the Margaret River Pro in Western Australia.
The 2019 Corona Open J-Bay winner, Gabriel Medina of Brazil, will return to Supertubes after he was awarded the men's 2022 WSL CT season wildcard, which gives him entry into all Championship Tour events following the Mid-season Cut.
In 2019, Medina became the first goofy-footer in 35 years to win in Jeffreys Bay.
After J-Bay, there's only one event to go before the Final 5 will be decided to battle for the World Title at the Rip Curl WSL Finals at Trestles, California from 6-18 September 2022.
South Africa’s Jordy Smith, a two-time event winner in Jeffreys Bay, will hope to score a solid performance in front of his home crowd at a wave he has proven his knowledge, experience and admiration for.
While a Final 5 finish might be out of reach for Smith, he could play spoiler for those closer to the cut-off.
Current women's world number 1 Carissa Moore of Hawaii will also be back in J-Bay to defend her title.
"This is confirmation that South Africa has the ability to host and present one of the best international surfing events on the calendar," said Surfing South Africa President Johnny Bakker.
"It also shows that South Africa remains a major travel destination for recreational and competitive international surfers."
