The US Open of Surfing Starts Today — And Mexico Has a Real Contender

The Lexus US Open of Surfing — the largest surf competition on the planet — runs daily in Huntington Beach from today, July 25, through August 2. Thousands of fans, the world's best surfers, and this year, a real storyline for Mexico.

Alan Cleland: Mexico's Rising Contender

Alan Cleland, born in Boca de Pascuales, Colima, isn't just competing this year — he's defending real credibility. He won the US Open of Surfing in 2024, took gold at the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games, and closed out 2025 ranked inside the top 20 on the WSL Championship Tour. For a country better known internationally for Puerto Escondido's barrels than for producing CT-level talent, Cleland is proof the level is rising fast.

A New Format Raises the Stakes

This season the WSL scrapped its Finals-day format and returned to a straight points system for the first time in five years, with the tour concluding at Pipeline in a winner-take-all-style finish worth 50% more points than a standard stop. Every heat now counts toward the world title race — there's no mid-season cut and no safety net, which makes an early-season result at an event like the US Open carry more long-term weight than it has in years.

Why This Matters for Us

Puerto Escondido has produced its own wave of QS-level talent over the years, and every result from a Mexican surfer on the world stage puts Mexican surf culture further on the map — the same culture we build every product around. Following Cleland's heats this week isn't just fandom, it's watching the sport we love get taken seriously on our own soil.

How to Watch

Heats run daily through August 2 and stream live on the WSL's platform. Between heats, gear up the same way we do for a session at Zicatela — check our Caps Collection for something to watch from the beach in.