Mick Fanning Commemorates Kelly Slater's Career After Championship Tour Cut

In a social media post, Fanning wrote:

“Congratulations on such an incredible career @kellyslater

“What you did for the sport of surfing is unrivalled. Pushing the limits of what is possible. The dedication to your craft inspired everyone to become better. Thank you for all the memories and battles. It was truly an honour to share heats, surfs and experiences over the years. You taught me what it takes to become a champion in and out of the water.

“Wishing you all the very best for the future and your new growing family.

“Love and respect”

Slater lost in the Round of 32 at the Western Australia Margaret River Pro against current world number one, Griffin Colapinto. And although he didn’t officially announce his retirement from pro surfing, following the loss, the 52-year-old shared this message:

“As far as emotions, it’s almost hitting me. It’s right there bubbling. I couldn’t quite pull a miracle off this week. I’ve pulled a few off over the years and I still had that hope out there. Even with a minute to go, I thought, ‘One might pop up.’ But to lose to the world number one. Griff is the number one guy and I’ve been close with him for a long time. It’s been fun to be over 50 and still mixing it up with the guys and still feeling like I’m there with them. Seeing this new crop of guys and to finish with Griffin, as a full-time competitor that’s cool.

 “I’ve had a fight with this wave my whole career, so it’s not necessarily the wave I want to end on. I have put in for a wildcard for Fiji so I’ll see how that goes. But I do feel like, if I get a wildcard into Fiji, I could end up against Griffin again so I’ll get to pay him back.

“But yeah, it is what it is, everything comes to an end and if you don’t adapt you don’t survive and my motivation just hasn’t been there to really put in that one-hundred percent that everyone else is now.

“I’ve got a couple weeks here, Renato asked me if I want to surf on the Goldy [Challenger Series Event]. If Snapper looks good, we’ll see. Just for some fun.”

What’s next for Slater? Well, a baby boy for one thing.

As far as his competitive career, it may be curtains.