Leihani Zoric’s World Junior Title and Big Goals Put Women’s Surfing on Notice

Leihani Zoric’s case as a future force in women’s surfing rests on more than a striking edit. At 13, the surfer from Broken Head, Australia, has already won a world junior title and earned a place on Australia’s open team. Her next challenge is turning that early success into experience across the locations and levels she’ll need to reach her stated goals.

Zoric became the youngest U-18 ISA World Champion when she won the World Junior Surfing Games in El Salvador in September. She entered the Australian team as a wildcard, then was selected for the open team at the World Surfing Games in Peru, alongside Stephanie Gilmore and two-time World Champion Tyler Wright. That rapid jump in competition gives her a rare early view of the demands ahead, though her competitive career is only beginning.

Her win also carried a distinction beyond age. Zoric became the first Indigenous Australian World Junior Surfing Champion. She is Yued, one of the 14 language groups within the Noongar Nation, whose history in Australia’s southwest stretches back 40,000 years. For Zoric, representing her Culture and Country on an international stage was central to what the title meant.

“It meant so much to me, just getting to represent my Culture and my Country on the world stage, and getting to show the world who I am, what I stand for, and my surfing,” she said.

“My Culture is a huge part of my identity, and they’ve taught me so much in and out of the water. Getting to fly the Aboriginal flag meant so much to me, especially in El Salvador, because the feeling over there was amazing.”

A style already taking shape

Her new edit, No Reception, directed by Chris Moore, offers another view of where Zoric is now. Set in the Maldives, it follows her through a trip around the northern atolls by boat: missing calls from her dad, getting to grips with life on the water and even helping hoist an octopus aboard. The loose, playful scenes suit a young athlete still figuring things out, while the surfing itself shows uncommon assurance.

Dom Sullivan’s edit draws on early-2000s surf culture, giving the footage a nostalgic frame without making Zoric’s approach feel like a throwback. She drives hard through turns on the rail, attacks the lip and carries herself above the coping with finesse. The mix of control and aggression makes the footage feel both familiar and fresh. Her age is difficult to reconcile with the power and composure in the water.

The edit’s energy comes partly from that contrast: Zoric’s relaxed presence between waves and her commitment once she’s on one. She described taking part in the different scenes as feeling like a movie star. That sense of fun matters. A strong competitive result can put pressure on a young surfer to make every next step look like proof of future greatness; this footage instead captures someone building her relationship with the sport and the places where she surfs.

Building toward the next level

Zoric doesn’t currently hold a ranking on the Australian QS or Pro Junior. After the World Surfing Games, her stated plan is to keep developing her surfing and gain experience at different locations. That’s a practical focus for an athlete whose ambition extends well beyond one junior championship: she wants to try to qualify for the World Championship Tour in 2029 and for the LA Olympics.

Those targets make exposure to different breaks especially relevant. Surfing rewards adaptability: a competitor has to read the conditions, select waves and execute under pressure, with each venue presenting its own demands. More time in varied locations can help build that judgment. Zoric’s current priority, as she describes it, is accumulating that experience while continuing to work on her surfing.

Her ambitions are expansive, but she also describes success in terms that reach beyond trophies. She wants to become the greatest athlete she can, while remaining humble and caring for others. Her biggest stated goal is to become “the greatest female athlete of all time.” At 13, those are aspirations, not predictions. The more immediate evidence is already compelling: a record-setting junior win, selection for the open team and a style that suggests plenty of room to grow.

The next measure will be how she develops through competition and new conditions. Zoric has announced herself on the world junior stage; now she has time to build the craft and experience behind her longer-range goals. No Reception captures the promise, while her next contests will start to show how it holds up against a wider field.