“It’s pretty exciting,” Gilmore says. She opted out of the 2024 WSL campaign to focus on other surfing pursuits, and then again decided to miss the current 2025 season. But Gilmore had never flagged the possibility of retirement – a return to competition has always been on the cards. On the Gold Coast, the wildcard enables her to test the waters. 2025 May 8, Kieran Pender, “Steph Gilmore: ‘I was looking for something more, in myself and in my surfing’”, in The Guardian: