Showdown in the desert sees Andrea Zust land back-to-back Hydrofoil titles while Hugo Wigglesworth grabs his first
GKA Hydrofoil Big Air World Cup Abu Dhabi
25-30 Oct, 2025 | Fahid Island
New Zealand’s Hugo Wigglesworth won his first Hydrofoil Big Air world title in his debut season, while Switzerland’s Andrea Zust landed back-to-back crowns to cap a dramatic year at the finale in Abu Dhabi.
Wigglesworth, 19, raised the Hydrofoil Big Air bar with stellar riding that saw off a stiff challenge from his nearest rival, Germany’s Finn Flügel, 16, in a final thriller at the GKA Hydrofoil Big Air World Cup Abu Dhabi hosted by the Fahid Island Watersports Festival.
“It feels amazing,” said Wigglesworth. “It’s also a little bit of relief that Finn was so tight and under so much pressure. I’m glad I got the job done. Super-stoked. I would say it’s my best heat here and I’m glad I could do it in the final. I’ve been on the water for 10 years, so I’m glad with all the training I have some significant achievement to my name.”
Zust also beat off a strong run by France’s Christelle Divry to get the win in the lighter breezes of Abu Dhabi and land her a repeat Hydrofoil Big Air crown.
“In the final Christelle was a little bit close to me score-wise,” said Zust. “I was a little bit surprised. I knew she could do some good tricks, especially with her foil kite. So, I was a little be nervous. To get the world title again is incredible. I didn’t count on it.”
Day four of the Fahid Island Watersports Festival, presented by Aldar, saw the GKA Hydrofoil Big Air World Championships reach the business end of proceedings, with only the men’s and women’s final rounds to be concluded.
The women’s final was Annie Branton’s first and her inexperience showed when the young Briton made a slow start. The 16-year-old was timed out for her first two tricks and failed to score. But she found her groove and finished strongly. A last gasp trick lifted her to third place ahead of the Czech Republic’s Katerina Salandova.
Christelle Divry was another debutant on the tour. But the 37-year-old Frenchwoman is also a snow kite champion and her competition nous shone through. She retained her composure to claw back a deficit and it carried her to second overall.
Defending world champion Andrew Zust faltered on her first trick. But the doctor in another life never looked back after that. She landed every trick and kept her scoreboard mounting. It gave her the win in Abu Dhabi.
The men’s semi-finals featured all the title favourites. In the first, Italy’s Leonardo Casati struggled to find his rhythm. But as the heat progressed, he did enough to grab a place in the final.
Tour leader Hugo Wigglesworth, after winning at the opening stop in Sylt, Germany, hit the ground running in Abu Dhabi. He smoothly landed all six trick attempts. New moves not seen before in competition pushed his scores skyward and helped him advance.
The next semi was a tight battle for the second spot. Spaniards Lorenzo Casati and Borja Vellon were locked in a bitter duel. The Big Air Twin-tip world champion, Casati, looked as if he might pull it off as he laid down solid scores. But Vellon had other ideas, and with his final trick got his nose in front to send Casati packing in a shock defeat.
By then, Germany’s Finn Flügel was already looking at his rivals in the rear-view mirror. The second-ranked teenager piled up a big total and moved up.
The final was a mouthwatering prospect. Leonardo Casati and Borja Vellon appeared evenly matched. But Casati throws down several big scores in mid-heat and appeared set to come out on top. By contrast, Vellon crashed successive tricks and looked out of contention. The escape artist Vellon pulls it out with his last trick, and squeezed into third place.
The big guns, Flügel and Wigglesworth, each knew where the threat lay. Flügel opened big with complex and smooth tricks. Wigglesworth lit it up with a massive Backroll Rodeo that the judges loved for 9.07 from 10. He piled on the pressure with his innovative new move.
Flügel ups the ante, changing kites to go for an unhooked handlepass. Eventually it works, but fails to score well enough to stem the tide and the German teenager has to settle for second place after Wigglesworth nailed several big tricks at the death.
“It was hard,” said Flügel. “With the last move I thought I really had it. I think for sure it was the right call to go for a handelpass. It would have been the highest score of my tricks. It’s something new. We haven’t really seen it with the foil. But the judges saw it differently.”
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Svetlana Romantsova
GKA Hydrofoil Big Air World Cup Abu Dhabi 2025
Men
1 Hugo Wigglesworth (NZL)
2 Finn Flügel (GER)
3 Borja Vellon (ESP)
4 Leonardo Casati (ITA)
Women
1 Andrea Zust (SUI)
2 Christelle Divry (FRA)
3 Annie Branton (GBR)
4 Katerina Salandova (ITA)
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.
Event information
- Location: Fahid Island, Abu Dhabi
- Dates: 25-30 October
- All event information here.
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