Jordy Smith Claws His Way Back to the Top of the 2025 CT Rankings

 

Just like that, Jordy Smith is back on top of the 2025 Championship Tour rankings. At the ripe age of 37, Jordy is the elder statesman duking it out with the young bucks and snagged his second event win this season at the Margaret River Pro on 5/27.

 

This CT run has looked different for Jordy. 2025 marks his 18th year on the tour, but he shows no signs of slowing down. After injuries, slumps, becoming a family man and a lot of growing up, Jordy is taking event wins for the first time since 2017. At that, he’s never taken more than one event win in a season and this year he’s already scored two, at the Surf City El Salvador Pro and Margaret River Pro respectively. He now sits comfortably atop the rankings as the World No. 1, a position he's no stranger to. He has been in the World Title conversation for much of his career, having placed runner-up in both 2010 and 2016.

 

With four regular-season events remaining, Jordy is in prime position to make his dream a reality. He's previously won three of the four upcoming events, including two victories each at his former home breaks of Trestles and J-Bay.

 

When asked about his awesome run, Jordy responded, "It feels incredible, I think it's just a testament to like, every day keep showing up, trusting what you're doing. I can't just say that I've been doing all the work, I've got such a great team of people behind me. For me, this year, it's just really been about have fun and enjoy this because it's not forever." 

 

The race for the top five is heating up, with plenty of surfers eager to make their mark. "I think everyone's going to be fighting for that top five now, there's a lot of guys that are swinging for it, so that's going to be really exciting," he added. "And I think just having that opportunity to kind of push yourself against all the best in the world is all I'm really looking for, and yeah, take every day for what it is and don't think too far down the line." As the Tour moves on to the next stop, all eyes will be on Jordy as he continues his quest for a world title. 

 

Early Days

Back in the early 2000s, the young South African from Durban was becoming the most hyped junior surfer since Kelly Slater. His father, Graham Smith, was a former pro surfer turned surfboard shaper. He had Jordy in the water at an early age, developing a passion for the ocean that would shape his life. Growing up in South Africa presented its own unique challenges but Jordy embraced them with a positive outlook. "For me, growing up in South Africa was pretty rugged and rough, but that's just the cards that we were dealt," he reflects. "You make the most of them, and that moulds you into the person that you are, the character.” And South Africa played a huge role in shaping Jordy as a surfer. Travelling the coastline and

learning to thrive at a ton of different breaks from Transkei to J-Bay and Cape Town, Jordy’s surfing developed fast as a youth.

 

Competing

Jordy’s amateur career was pretty impressive. In 2003, he won the ISA U-16 World Championship, proving his skills against the best from around the globe. Three years later, he claimed the World Junior Championship title, solidifying his status as a rising star. In 2006 he earned the Triple Crown Rookie Of The Year award. In 2007, he continued his winning streak by dominating the World Qualifying Series and winning by a record margin. 

 

Life On Tour

After winning the QS, Jordy qualified for the Championship Tour starting his first season in 2008. He secured Rookie of the Year accolades after that season and held the pedal to the floor as a pro from there on. Year after year he kept up the pace, always competing at the top level with the best in the world. He took a huge win at the Billabong Pro J-Bay in 2010 and was runner up for a world title that year. In 2011 he won the Billabong Pro J-Bay for a second time. In 2013 he won the Billabong Rio Pro. He won the Hurley Pro at Trestles in both 2014 and 2016, finishing 2nd in the world for the second time in 2016 at the close of the season. In 2017 he won the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. Then after dealing with some heavy injuries, Olympic gold dreams when surfing was added for the first time in 2020 and returning to true form, brings us back to this 2025 season with him scoring wins at the Surf City El Salvador Pro and Margaret River Pro. We’re stoked to see how the rest of the season goes for Jordy!

 

Family

In 2014 Jordy married the love of his life Lyndall Jarvis. They have two sons, welcoming  newborn Sonny this year in 2025. It seems being a dad and family man has brought a ton of happiness and structure into his life. When speaking on his elder son Ziggy in 2017 he said “One of the biggest things I’m learning as a dad is that nothing else is as important as me being there for my son and putting in time with him. This is cheesy but they say kids spell love as time. I want him to know that putting in time with people that are important in his life is the most important things he can do.”

 

Closing

With almost 20 years on tour and a life well-lived competing at the highest level, Jordy Smith is back in the world title conversation and we wish him the best of luck. With endless accolades/awards, iconic video parts and a ton of time spent on the road and in the water, Jordy has surely cemented his name in surfing’s list of legends. It’s been an honor to have him on Team O’Neill all these years and we look forward to more good times. But success comes in many forms and earlier this year he summed it all up in the best way. “So much of the time you’re just chasing that result or you’re chasing the wins that you kind of forget a little bit about the leisure of it. Experiencing the world with your family and things like that is really the biggest success.” 

 

 

Caity Simmers Sits in #2 Spot On Women’s 2025 CT Rankings

The 2024 champ and all-around style queen Caity Simmers is well within striking distance to take her second world title in the women’s division. With a most-recent second place finish at the Margaret River Pro, a win at the Surf Abu Dhabi Pro and a handful of other podium finals this year, we’re stoked to see how the season finishes up for Caity. When speaking after the comp at Margaret River Simmers said, “It was just cool that we got a couple waves in that heat, because it was pretty inconsistent, and there actually ended up being waves in our heat," Simmers said. "But yeah, I think we have two different styles of surfing, and we both can get good scores from it. That's the beauty of surfing, there's not a straightforward way to do it. And [Gabriela Bryan] just won fair and square, there was no other way to put it.” Gabriela Bryan sits 2,200 points ahead of Caity at the moment. With 5 more stops and a ton more heats to go, we wish Caity all the best through the end of this CT season.