The unstoppable Mulanovich clinches Ballito Women’s Pro title

Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich comfortably defeated top seed Philippa Anderson (AUS) in the 25 minute final held in lumpy, high-tide one metre waves, winning the Ballito Women’s Pro pres. by Billabong at Willard Beach on Wednesday.

The Peruvian was dominant throughout the marathon day of competition, winning five consecutive heats including the final where she racked up scores of 6.0 and 5.25 (both out of 10) while Anderson could only produce a pair of fours.

The Australian, who was born in South Africa, was left needing 6.4 points when the siren went to end the encounter.

The 35-year-old Mulanovich proved that age is just a number as the 18-year-old Shino Matsudo (JPN), who had reached the final of two events in the past month, was beaten in both their one-on-one semi-final and the four person quarter-final.

The final result sees Anderson move up to number 11 on the women’s World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) rankings, while Mulanovich jumps 19 places to number 51.

The 32 entries for the QS 1,000 rated event were evenly split with 15 international competitors taking on 17 locals in round one, which got underway immediately after the completion of the final four heats in the QS10,000 rated men’s event.

And what about the money?

Following the international social media outcry over the gender-based discrepancy in prize money in the Billabong Junior Series, all eyes are on how much the Pro Women cashed in, and the result is rather disappointing.

According to WSL Africa media manager Paul Botha, the total prize money for the Ballito Women’s Pro pres. by Billabong, which is a World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 rated event, was R20,000.  He said the top eight finishers in the Ballito Women’s Pro were paid prize money according to where they finished in the event with Mulanovich getting the highest amount of R8000, followed by R4000 for the runner up.

WSL said this is an important topic for them and that they are “committed to providing a platform for the best surfers in the world, regardless of gender, and recognize that prizing is an important factor in creating that platform.”   

Full results from the opening day, along with news, images, video clips and more will be available at www.worldsurfleague.com