The new generation of Australian women planning on world surfing domination

T here is something exceptional in the water around Australia at the moment. An upwelling of young women surfers are bubbling to the surface of the World Surf League and, increasingly, snapping at the leg ropes of the old guard.

If you’ve not heard the name Molly Picklum, best familiarise yourself now. She is ranked No 1 in the world, a 20-year-old prodigy from the Central Coast who is mentored by stars including former tennis world No 1 Ash Barty and three-time surfing world champion Mick Fanning.

Picklum thundered to the top of the charts when she won the Sunset Beach Pro in towering, eight-foot Hawaiian waves in February. Consistent results put her in the yellow jersey heading into the Australian leg of the WSL Championship Tour at Bells Beach this week.

“Having the number one next to your name brings a lot more noise,” Picklum said on Monday, ahead of the event window opening on Tuesday. “But I’m embracing it for sure. It’s an opportunity that I’m really grateful for. What an honour to be here in Bells Beach and potentially ring this thing [the famous bell trophy].”

Picklum’s ranking, for now, puts her above legions of Australian experience in two-time world champion Tyler Wright, who won the event last year, Olympian Sally Fitzgibbons, and eight-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore. It is only her second year on tour.

Macy Callaghan, 22, and Isabella Nichols, 25, add to a formidable field of six Australian women in the world’s top 18 this year. Wild card 23-year-old Kobie Enright will join the lineup at Bells, after winning the WSL trials event over the weekend.

“It’s crazy to see where the young women are going in surfing and especially in the last few years,” Picklum’s coach and former professional surfer Glenn