Australia’s eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore will return to the World Surf League’s Championship Tour (CT) next year after being awarded a season wildcard.
Gilmore’s return comes after she stepped away from the tour in 2024, two years after winning her most recent world title.
Her 2022 triumph gave her a record eighth world championship.
“The last few years, I’ve enjoyed time off to do some exploration and other things,” Gilmore said in a statement.
“But I’m looking forward to heading back to the CT in 2026 and seeing how I compete against the young talent on the tour.
“I’m mostly excited just to see how I go in these challenges again.
“When you step away from competing full-time, you can really switch off and it can be hard to get back into that headspace.
“But I’m excited to feel that energy and that challenge again.”
Stephanie Gilmore won an eighth world championship in 2022. (Supplied: World Surf League)
Gilmore, 37, will make her competitive return at next April’s Bells Beach Pro in Victoria, which is the first CT event of the season.
The Murwillumbah-born surfer won the first of four consecutive world titles as a 19-year-old in 2007, before adding victories in 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Gilmore has won 34 CT events, second only to Kelly Slater across the men’s and women’s tours.