Brooks Seals Women's First Tour Three-peat Since 2008

Canadian teenager Erin Brooks won the Lexus Trestles Pro on Friday, completing a third straight Championship Tour victory and becoming the first woman since Stephanie Gilmore in 2008 to three-peat on the world tour.

A backhand masterclass at the Olympic venue

Facing world No. 1 Gabriela Bryan in clean, head-high surf at the future 2028 LA Olympics site, Brooks opened with a 7.00 on sharp backhand turns. Bryan kept the heat tight with a 6.33 and a 5.57 for an 11.90 total.

Brooks held the lead with a second mid-range score. She sealed the win with another well-surfed right-hander for a 6.00 as the clock wound down, finishing with a 13.00 total built on control and progression.

The performance capped a finals run that already saw her eliminate five-time world champion Carissa Moore in the quarterfinal and reigning world champion Molly Picklum in the semifinal.

From early struggles to elite company

Brooks failed to escape the second round in the first six events of her sophomore season. The turnaround began with a historic win at Teahupo'o, where at 19 she became the youngest surfer to claim the Tahiti Pro, then continued at Cloudbreak with victory at the Fiji Pro.

"The first part of the year was such a bummer, but this makes it worth it," she told reporters afterwards. "So many hard heats just made me want to work even harder and now I've gotten to this point and I want to keep going."

A quiet moment, a louder future

The tour now breaks into a two-event post-season in Portugal and the Philippines before the finale at Pipeline. For Brooks, a season that began in frustration carries an unmistakable momentum.