US teen clinches Ballito Pro women’s title in her first Challenger Series final
Bella Kenworthy (USA) is an up-and-coming youngster from Southern California.
Seventeen-year-old Bella Kenworthy (USA) defeated Tahitian sensation Vahine Fierro (24) to claim the Ballito Pro women’s title in her first ever Challenger Series final today.
The 10 000 Challenger Series ranking points Kenworthy earned catapulted her nine spots up the rankings into fourth place, placing her in the top five year-end conversation for possible Championship Tour qualification.
After defeating Tessa Thyssen in near windless early-morning conditions, Kenworthy had to adjust her approach to deal with gusty conditions brought on by a brisk south-wester in the final.
As predicted, the shift in conditions meant the bigger scores would come from the left.
Fierro, who have found the majority of her excellent scores on the right on her backhand throughout the contest, chose to stick to her game plan.
With the wind and low tide sandbar creating tricky, exploding close-out sections on the right, Fierro failed to find the big landings she had become accustomed to.
The judges have been harsh on completion of rides. The brief was clear: the board has to be well ahead of the white water for a ride to be deemed complete.
Ten minutes into the heat Kenworthy took the lead with a mid-range 5.63 and a 0.63 over Fierro’s 3.33.
Fierro would soon after find a 4.00 to briefly advance into the lead but a strong left hand two-turn combo near the halfway mark of the heat would see the judges reward Kenworthy with a 6.05 to reclaim her lead over the Tahitian.
Having pulled off a cutch semi-final victory over Sophia Medina earlier in the day with a near buzzer-beater 7.07 to clinch back-to-back Ballito Pro finals appearances, there was always hope that Fierro could do the same in the final.
However, Kenworthy would continue to spice up the scorecard with a last-minute two-turn combo on the right hand bank to seal the deal and take out the win with a total heat score of 12.50 over Fierro’s 9.03.
“I’m super excited. My goal was just to get a better result than what I have been getting so far, which has been quarter-finals. The win means a lot to me,” said Kenworthy.
Not wanting to think about Championship Tour qualification too much, she said she was just taking it one competition at a time and see where it takes her.
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