Pro Surfer Suffers Knee Injury at Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Competition

The 2025 World Surf League (WSL) Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach event in Australia is well underway. In recent days, legendary surfers including Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore made spectacular appearances, but now it's time for competitors to get back in the water and continue shredding the waves at the fifth stop of the Championship Tour.

Unfortunately for some, the competition isn't going as planned. After surfing on Tuesday, 31-year-old Moroccan athlete Ramzi Boukhiam reportedly suffered a knee injury while navigating rocks as he walked toward shore. In an awkward movement, he went down—fellow surfers immediately came to his rescue.

Assisting Boukhiam out of the water was surf icon Italo Ferreira and Xavier Huxtable. Both men were seen physically supporting their opponent following the injury.

Ramzi Boukhiam Out at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Competition

"Life doesn't always make sense... and right now, it's really tough to accept what happened. Getting a major injury—again—and during a contest I felt so ready for, just breaks me. With everything I've already been through, it honestly hits deep," Boukhiam wrote on social media.

"But I truly believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe this is part of a bigger path I can't see yet. I'm holding on to that thought, and doing my best to focus on healing, staying positive, and keeping my energy where it needs to be," he continued.