Margaret River’s Willow Hardy in scintillating second place at Rip Curl 2025 Padang Padang in Indonesia

Willow Hardy has claimed a major coup in the surfing world by coming in second at the prestigious Rip Curl Padang Padang Cup in Indonesia. Described by Surfing WA as “one of the world’s most revered tube-riding events”, the place finish in Indo was by the narrowest of margins and improves the Margaret River mainstay’s performance at the famed break after she came in third last year. Amid picturesque conditions, which provided consistent swells of more than 1.5m, Hardy pushed local hope Jasmine Studer in an epic final. Hardy pumped in impressive scores of 9.00 and 8.33 to see herself and Studer well clear of the rest of the field. However, a perfect 10 on Studer’s fourth wave ultimately proved too much to overcome, with Hardy unable to pick up the 9.18 required on her final wave. Hardy’s dad Gene Hardy told the Times his superstar daughter was stoked to come straight off her recent injury and onto the podium finish. Held in flawless conditions, the Bali event drew a stacked international field and a packed beach of surf fans. Also in the contest was Margaret River’s Shaun Manners, one of only four Australians to receive an invite to compete in the men’s division. Hardy showed poise under pressure, patiently waiting for the best wave before locking in a deep barrel that earned her a near-perfect 9.00. It proved enough to leapfrog her into second place with plenty of time remaining. Local favourite Jasmine Studer, who finished runner-up last year, was quick to answer back, scoring the event’s only perfect 10. In their duel, Hardy found another clean tube to post an excellent 8.33, but fell just short of the win. Manners started slowly in round 1, but found his rhythm in his second heat, scoring an 8.27 and 6.17. Despite the solid performance, he missed out on progression by just 0.09 points, finishing 11th overall. Seventeen-year-old local Westen Hirst went on to claim the men’s title. Despite missing out on the title, it represented a strong comeback for Hardy, who in June required surgery after tearing three ligaments in a syndesmosis injury suffered in a free surf in Newcastle. The 18-year-old goofy-footed Margaret River local has been knocking on the door of the Pro Surf League World Tour and earned wildcard entry to this year’s Margaret River Pro after dominating the WA Trials event. Against championship contenders for the first time, Hardy was no pushover but was edged out by legend Sally Fitzgibbons in the elimination round.