13 August, 2021, Kuta, Bali: 21-year-old Indonesian Olympian Rio Waida’s impressive run for the podium at the Corona Open Mexico presented by Quiksilver was stopped today in the Round of 16 by Western Australia’s Jack Robinson, who snatched away Waida’s lead in the 45 minute heat by posting one of the highest single wave scores of the day, a 9.37 (out of a possible 10 points) to take the lead with just minutes left in the heat. Waida waited as long as he could with priority but then as time was running out he had to go on the only wave that came his way in hopes of somehow getting the 8.64 score he needed to regain the lead. Unfortunately the wave failed to provide him an excellent scoring opportunity so the judges could only give him a 5.63, and his dream run in Mexico was finished.
In his most recent Instagram post he wrote, “Thank you for the opportunity to be part of this event. It was really fun, I really enjoyed the every moment. One day I’m going to qualify and I want to do more of this.”
Robinson went on to best #11 ranked Frederico Morias in Quarterfinal 3, and will face Wildcard Mateus Herdy in the Semifinals. Herdy bested current World Number 2 Italo Ferriera in Quarterfinal 4 with an amazing performance, posting a 9.27 and a 7.27 for a combined score of 16.54, the highest heat total of the Quarterfinals, so there should be some incredible surfing happening when the competition resumes.
This is Waida’s second and best World Championship Tour appearance, finishing the event in 9th place from a total of 36 surfers, where in his first at the Corona Bali Protected at Keramas in 2019 he finished in 17th place, making this a very positive step in his progression towards a full time spot on the World Championship Tour.
Sow What’s next for Rio Waida? He will now travel to Huntington Beach, California, where he will start his bid to join the World Championship Tour full-time by competing in the four stop Challenger Series, where the top 10 ranked men at the end of 2021 will qualify for the 2022 World Championship Tour.
The US Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach is the first stop from 20-26 September, then the tour heads over to Europe for the MEO Vissla Pro Ericeira in Portugal from 2-10 October and the Quiksilver Pro France from 16-24 October. The fourth and final event will see the surfers all going to Hawaii for the Haleiwa Challenger that will take place from 26 November – 7 December.
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