WSL surfer Jack Robinson talks about returning from injury and heading straight into The Surf Ranch Pro.
The World Surf League 2023 Championship tour season is in full swing. With the first event following the mid-season cut quickly approaching, all remaining surfers on tour are flocking to Lemoore, CA to hit The Surf Ranch. This massive man-made wave pool in the heart of California farm country will be the home of the most unique stop on the CT. This wave pool is so unlike the other stops that are held in some of the most dangerous waves in the world and the athletes need to be at the top of their games in order to be holding that trophy at the end of the weekend.
Coming into this year, Australia's Jack Robinson was showing early that he was one of the ones to beat this year. With a win straight out of the gate at the Billabong Pro Pipeline, he was wearing the yellow leader jersey and had the field gunning for him. Unfortunately, he had an injury that kept him out of the last stop on tour and briefly derailed his season. Robinson is healed up and ready to continue his quest for a WSL Finals appearance. He sat down for an exclusive chat with FanSided prior to hitting the competition heats this weekend at The Surf Ranch.
"It's so different, obviously, from the ocean, but since I had the injury at Bell's, I had five weeks, I think, or six weeks out of the water," he said. "So I was training so much and just, I don't know, I had a time off. I feel like it's one of those events you have to be the fittest for just because it's so long, the waves like, almost too long, but yeah, different. Definitely a different mindset, you know, the way it's gonna come. So it's a super fun wave, I love it."
Jack Robinson is ready to continue on his quest for a WSL world title
Robinson talks about healing from his knee injury and having to sit out of his home break event at Margaret River.
"I almost did the event, but then also once I had a bit of a think about it sort of had to listen to the people that are with you and the coaches and everybody that like, hey, we have a long year, it is a marathon, you really need to just, it's can be a throwaway," he explained. "I had a good start already. So let's just build back up for the second half of the year and come in feeling good. That's the biggest thing. You really appreciate your health when you have an injury."
The inclusion of The Surf Ranch gives fans of the sport a different kind of experience than they are used to seeing. With an event run in the ocean the waves must be satisfactory, at The Surf Ranch they always are. Perfect waves will be coming on demand and this new privilege is changing the sport of surfing.
"I see little seven and eight-year-olds surfing in wave pools already doing big airs," Robinson said. "They get so many more waves than you do in the ocean because in the ocean, you maybe only will get, you know, five to 10 waves sometimes in like, maybe an hour or two hours. But in the wave pool, you get like 50 goes. So it's like, these kids are getting so good, so quick. I think it's really cool because we get to practice so much. And it's the funnest ever. It'll be really interesting. My kids will be growing up in wave pools now."
Fans can catch Jack Robinson in the water at The Surf Ranch beginning on May 27 at 7:30 am PDT. Watch all the action in the water on the WSL YouTube channel and on Worldsurfleague.com.