“When the time comes and I’m in that heat situation, I don’t know, I think I will approach things the same way – using those tools, those little psych-up tactics,” Gilmore says.
“Telling those little stories to myself, it’s definitely been a handy way to rev myself up in heat, switch over from my pretty easy-going nature.
Eight-time world champion Steph Gilmore is returning to the world tour in 2026.Credit: World Surf League
“But I’m also pretty excited to see how I surf on tour and in competition without this pressure of feeling like I need to win the title too.
“It does feel different, coming back in this way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to disrespect getting the WSL wildcard, I’ll pour my whole heart into this season, and there will be a competitive beast there.
“But I think it’s fair to say I have a lot less expectation or pressure on myself. And what that means for my surfing? I don’t know, maybe it’s a whole new free style of my surfing in comps? That’s what’s so exciting.”
Gilmore certainly sounds like someone coming back to work from holiday.
For one of the most stylish, effortless surfers the professional circuit has seen, the prospect of her surfing somehow becoming even easier on the eye is intriguing.
Especially given that competitive itch is still there. Sitting back watching world champions Picklum (2025) and American rival Caity Simmers (2024) push each other in historic performances at Pipeline and Teahupo’o, “and wishing I was out there in those heats” left Gilmore with little doubt.
She was always coming back, even if it was a year later than originally planned.
And the inevitable question you have to put to a woman with a strike rate of a world title every two years she competes?
“That’s the whole reason for being on tour – you’re trying to win a world title,” she says. “I’m not going out there just to exist. I’m coming back to challenge this amazing new generation. But this also feels like such a bonus in my career, too.
“Coming back for the first time after a breather, I feel completely new. It’s nerve-wracking, and it feels like I’m coming in as a rookie again, which I love. Obviously, I have a lot of experience, but I have fresh eyes too, it’s a very cool feeling.”
Mini me: Steph Gilmore with her own Barbie Doll.Credit: Mattel
As is having her own Barbie doll, complete with “on-point” wavy blonde hair and Gilmore’s hot pink trimmed Ripcurl wetsuit. Gilmore’s figurine features as part of a release of “role models” for International Women’s Day that included tennis great Serena Williams, pioneering Indian cricketer Smrita Mandhana and UK footballing star Chloe Kelly.
Women’s surfing has never been in such rude health. The revamped WSL tour ensures the girls surf at every location the men do, where once the heaviest waves of Hawaii and Tahiti were deemed too dangerous.
Surfing’s introduction to the Olympics has spotlighted the sport to new audiences and Gilmore herself was an influential campaigner for equal prize money at WSL events (in place since 2019).
“Role model” is as appropriate as it gets for the greatest female surfer of all time.
“It’s been amazing watching women’s surfing grow, even in the two years I haven’t been competing on tour,” Gilmore says.
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“Seeing someone like Molly, she seems to come into her comfort zone whenever the surf gets bigger and heavier. Caity Simmers is so small in stature, but she’s so unafraid of whatever the ocean throws at her.
“It’s such a cool phase for professional surfing and then just socially, when I was young, I was one of only a few women in the water wherever I was. Now you can get line-ups where it’s 50 per cent women, from five-year-olds to women in their 60s and 70s. It’s so inspiring, and it’s very, very cool to play a small part in.”
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