Cover photo: WSL

World and Olympic champion Ítalo Ferreira responded to the criticism that arose especially after the New Zealand stage, an event in which he performed three aerials on one wave to receive a 9,23.

“It’s not my fault that I know how to do aerials and that it’s easy for me,” he explained, adding: “If this maneuver gives me points, why wouldn’t I do it just because someone else doesn’t like it?” he told Guilherme Dorini on his podcast.

Ethan Ewing had said in June on the Stab podcast that "They're not really riding the wave as well as they could be," but on the other hand he praised: "They're obviously doing the most incredible surfing, so we have to learn from that."

Italo replied: “I understand Ethan’s point of view at times. But if I can get an eight or a nine (doing aerial maneuvers) on a wave that’s closing out, why would I wait for an open wave? I can stay under the other surfer and catch all the waves I want, and he’ll only get a nine if the best wave of the day comes. But you only have 30 minutes, not all day.”

He also shared a bit of his story, explaining that he comes from a place with rough waves and had to learn the ropes in the rough ones. “I went, I trained, I fought, and I won: Pipe and Teahupo'o. I still want to win in Fiji. But (when I win there) they don't say anything about me.”

He remarked anecdotally, “I first went to Indonesia when I was 26. If you look at the other surfers, they have pictures of themselves when they were 12, traveling. These guys can fly to Fiji in three hours, fly to Bali in four. These guys come from amazing places with magnificent waves, where it’s much easier to perform,” he said. “It’s easy to surf well there. I also want to see good surfing in bad conditions,” he concluded.