Peruvian Alonso Correa, who was scheduled as the first alternate for the first challenger of the season, Snapper Rocks, which will take place between May 8 and 15, has already received confirmation that he has entered the event, according to the own surfer to the Peruvian site Surfplace in an interview.

“Last year I finished 30th on the CS circuit and with this injury (he fractured five bones in his foot) I couldn’t go to the last QS to fight for my qualification… So based on all my results, I deserved the wildcard. Even the first place was given to a Brazilian who is worse than me in all the rankings, but well, there’s nothing to do about that. I know I deserve the place and I’m going to give it my all,” he said.

He added: “You ask for the wildcard and they evaluate it according to the 'merits' of each one. For Manly it was confirmed from the beginning, but for the Gold Coast it was not certain so more CTs wanted to run it… Yesterday they gave me the news and well, it was a rush (laughs) for the next dates I will have to keep seeing because I am at the limit to be able to get in.”

Correa finished the challengers ranking in 30th position and the Brazilian Edgard Groggia in 38th, and yet the latter was given a wildcard with a higher seeding.

According to WSL press, the reason for this was: “Groggia qualified for the 2021 Challengers, but he did not compete due to injury, so this is his chance now. Alonso competed in the challengers but did not qualify.”

They added that the same situation occurs with the also Brazilian Peterson Crisanto.