The queen is coming back to the jersey.

Five-time World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Carissa Moore (HAW) has officially announced her return to the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour. After stepping away from full-time competition in 2024 to start a family, Moore has been awarded the 2026 WSL CT Season Wildcard, which puts her straight back on Tour when it kicks off in Australia on April 1, 2026.

For fans, it’s huge. For women’s surfing, it’s a moment.

“To put my jersey back on after having a baby feels like such a win… I want my journey to show my daughter, and hopefully other women, that we can do anything; we can keep chasing our dreams, even as life evolves.” – Carissa Moore

A Career Built on Power and Progression

Moore didn’t ease her way onto the Championship Tour – she detonated onto it. After winning her first CT event as a wildcard in 2009, she rolled into her rookie season in 2010, made three Finals, won two of them, and finished the year ranked No. 3 in the world at just 17. Rookie of the Year, obviously.

One year later, at 18, she locked in her first World Title and became the youngest World Champion in surf history at the time.

From there it was pure dominance: five World Titles, an Olympic Gold Medal, 28 CT wins, 122 events surfed, and just one season outside the Top 3 across 13 full years on Tour. The numbers are ridiculous, but the way she did it – with power, flow, and a relentless push for progression – is what changed the game.

Moore’s Aloha spirit has always been part of the story too. Early on she donated prize money from a CT win in New Zealand back to the local boardriders club. Through her Moore Aloha Foundation, she’s turned that same energy into mentorship, events, and resources for the next generation of surfers.

Motherhood, Paris 2024, and a New Chapter

Her last big global showing before the break was the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she surfed one of the heaviest waves on the planet while two months pregnant and still pushed through to the Quarterfinals. That’s not just a result – that’s a statement.

Now she’s back, healthy, energized, and rolling into a redesigned 2026 Championship Tour. The season starts at Bells Beach on April 1, 2026, and wraps on her home turf on the North Shore of Oʻahu at the legendary Pipe Masters in December.

Why Carissa’s Comeback Hits Different

She’s an Instant World Title Threat

Wildcard or not, Carissa Moore isn’t just another name in the draw. She’s one of the most consistent surfers in CT history, and every surfer on Tour knows the ranking picture changes the second her name goes back on the heat sheet.

The Performance Bar Goes Up

Every major leap in women’s surfing over the past decade and a half has Carissa’s fingerprints on it. Her return is going to force everyone to level up again – from rail game to progression to how heats are put together.

She’s Redefining the Comeback Story

A five-time World Champ and Olympic Gold Medalist coming back after having a baby, openly talking about the balance, the struggle, and the joy – that’s bigger than surfing. It’s a new kind of role model for athletes who don’t want to choose between family and chasing the top.

The Queen’s Homecoming

The 2026 Championship Tour was already going to be a big one: 50 years of the CT, a revamped schedule, and a new era of progression. Add Carissa Moore back into full-time competition, and it turns into must-watch territory from the first horn at Bells to the last wave at Pipe.

Five World Titles wasn’t the end of the story. Carissa Moore is back, and the next chapter starts now.