FreeFly-Slalom world champions to be crowned during nine-day watersports’ jamboree after season-long title race
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Abu Dhabi
28 October-02 November, 2025 | Fahid Island
Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, will make history this autumn as it hosts the GWA Wingfoil World Cup for the first time, marking the grand finale of the 2025 FreeFly-Slalom season.
The milestone event will see the sport’s top athletes descend on Fahid Island from 28 October to 2 November to crown the men’s and women’s world champions.
This keystone World Cup forms part of the Fahid Island Watersports Festival, powered by a landmark partnership between Aldar, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, AD Ports Group and the GWA Wingfoil World Tour.
The event reinforces Abu Dhabi’s position as a world-class hub for sport, adventure, and lifestyle tourism. As master developer of Fahid Island, Aldar is advancing the capital’s ambition by activating stretches of its pristine coastline and introducing destinations that combine wellness, sport, and culture.
Leading the charge are two-time defending world champions, Nia Suardiaz, of Spain, and Francesco Cappuzzo, of Italy, who head to Abu Dhabi leading the rankings. With the season’s final stop still wide open, both athletes will need flawless performances to secure their third consecutive titles.
Abu Dhabi’s newest coastal destination, Fahid Island, will serve as the venue for six days of high-octane racing during the nine-day festival, which will also crown champions in the SFT Surf Foil World Tour (E-Foil and Wake Foil) and host back-to-back GKA Kite World Cups in Hydrofoil Big Air and Freestyle — including the Freestyle season opener with €60,000 in prize money on the line.
Finely poised
Abu Dhabi is keen to develop the area as a watersports’ hub for the wider UAE community and international enthusiasts who, it hopes, will flock to the Gulf’s warm waters and steady breezes.
Staging the high-profile finish to the wingfoil FreeFly-Slalom year—where the world’s best athletes race around technical courses in a series of short, sharp races—will help underline Abu Dhabi’s ideal conditions for watersports.
The race for the men’s and women’s FreeFly-Slalom titles is finely poised, with Suardiaz and Cappuzzo unable to afford any slip-ups if they are to make it a hat-trick of world titles in Abu Dhabi.
Cappuzzo has the French pair of Bastien Escofet and Julien Rattotti, ranked second and third respectively, breathing down his neck. Each of the pursuers sit on equal points after taking a second and third apiece and are within touching distance of the Italian world champion.
Ready to pounce
Just behind in fourth is Italian, Alessandro Tomasi, another who could still win the title. Tomasi put on a strong performance during the qualifying rounds at the last stop in Fuerteventura, but was just outside the running in the all-important finals shootout.
Similarly, Suardiaz has a good lead after winning two events from two. But France’s Kylie Belloeuvre is close behind in the rankings after taking two second places. Belloeuvre has shown she has the pace to beat Suardiaz and was frustrated that she could not make it stick in the final in Fuerteventura.
Others like Spain’s Mar de Arce and Austria’s Viola Lippitsch, who are ranked three and four, are also within touching distance of Suardiaz ready to pounce on any mistake the teenager might make.
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Svetlana Romantsova
Spot Info: Fahid Island, Abu Dhabi
Wind
Fahid Island is being developed as a purpose-built watersports’ facility and sits next to Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island Marina, home of the Formula 1 circuit. The breezes in late October tend to be light-to-moderate, building to between 12 and 18 knots as the day goes on. The wind blows mainly cross-onshore from the north, with the seas remaining mostly flat in the bay sheltered by islands.
Weather
Sea temperatures in October and November are still warm, ranging from 28°C to 31°C, so board shorts and a rashie are all that is necessary on the water. The air temperature ranges from a low of 28°C overnight, to a high of 35°C in the day. Sunrise is at about 06.00 with sunset at about 18.40.
