Dora's Aerial Mastery and Johnson's Commanding Performance Highlight Lexus Pro

Brazilian surfer Yago Dora claimed victory over Japan's Kanoa Igarashi in the final of the Lexus Trestles Pro held in Southern California on Saturday. In the women's division, Hawaii's Bettylou Sakura Johnson secured her second win of the 2025 world tour.

The competition took place at Lower Trestles, the designated surfing venue for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The location provided an excellent setting for the world's top surfers to demonstrate their skills. Dora's aerial maneuvers proved particularly impressive.

Dora focused on the left-hand waves at Lower's peak, executing a series of spins and grabs. He defeated Australian surfer Ethan Ewing in the quarterfinals and local favorite Griffin Colapinto in the semifinals.

In the final against Igarashi, Dora immediately landed a large air reverse on an overhead left, combining it with sharp turns to earn a near-perfect score of 9.53 out of 10. The 29-year-old continued his winning strategy, accumulating three more high scores on the left-hand waves, including an 8.37, resulting in a two-wave total of 17.9 out of a possible 20.

Igarashi, a silver medalist from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, put up a strong fight with his own stylish and daring rides. However, he couldn't surpass the Brazilian, finishing with a two-wave total of 16.07.

Lower Trestles has previously hosted the World Surf League's one-day Finals day for the top five surfers at the end of the regular season. This year, the event was moved to the eighth stop on the tour, giving Dora his first opportunity to compete at Trestles. Dora expressed his excitement, stating that he had been watching the Finals for years and was thrilled to win. He had also won in Portugal earlier in the year.

On the women's side, Johnson adopted a different approach, concentrating on the long right-hand waves. She earned her best scores with sharp carves and critical turns.

The 20-year-old from Oahu's North Shore defeated former world and Olympic champion Caroline Marks in the quarterfinals and Californian Sawyer Lindblad in the semifinals. She then faced Australia's Molly Picklum in the final.

Johnson began the final with an excellent score of 8 for two impressive turns, later improving to a 9 for a series of carves and a big vertical re-entry. With the waves slowing down towards the end, Johnson's total of 17 points proved too much for Picklum, who finished with a two-wave score of 14.23. Johnson expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to surf amazing waves and her happiness with the win, which moved her up to number 4 in the world rankings.

The tour will next move to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil later this month for the ninth of eleven stops. The top five men and women will then compete for the world title in Fiji.