Younger generation takes over with U.S. Open of Surfing victories

If there was one thing to conclude at the U.S. Open of Surfing final, it’s that the future is now in the world of professional surfing.

A year after 39-year-old Kelly Slater won on the men’s side of one of the sport’s biggest annual events, second-year pro Julian Wilson, 23, stood on the winner’s podium Sunday. Teenagers Lakey Peterson and Carissa Moore met for the women’s title, with Peterson ousting Moore for the second year in a row.

“The younger generation has come in and we’re changing the sport for the better,” said Peterson, 17, the youngest on the women’s ASP tour. “I think it’s a really positive thing and it’s only going up from here.”

Wilson beat out 20-year-old Miguel Pupo, 17.53 to 14.76, for the $100,000 winner’s check and his first victory of the season after winning the tour’s rookie of the year honors a year ago. Pupo defeated Slater in the semifinals.

Peterson, who lost to Sally Fitzgibbons in the final at the Open a year ago, collected a $15,000 check for her first title in what will be the final event of the season with a 10.90 to 8.64 win over Moore, already a former world champion.

Ranked No. 7 in the final ASP women’s rankings, Peterson is expected to start next season in the top five.

The four finalists represent a growing number of elite youngsters in the sport, many of whom made it to the quarterfinals and semifinals. The young generation embraces a different style of surfing, attempting more trips “above the flip” — such as aerials, kickflips and 360s — than their predecessors.

Peterson went as far as to say they are trying to “revolutionize” surfing.

“The future is really bright for the sport,” Peterson said.

Wilson, a native of Australia, said he was surprised he managed to win without landing an aerial. But throughout the final, his repertoire was so consistently good that he didn’t really need to. He was patient, and executed more maneuvers than Pupo.

He barely sneaked into the final with a last-gasp series of high-difficulty moves in the final minute of his semifinal heat with another young star, 19-year-old Gabriel Medina.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for these guys that are coming through,” Wilson said. “They’re not holding back and they’re making surfing really exciting.”

With their performance Sunday, Peterson and Wilson — both less than two years from their ASP debut — were each carried on top of shoulders from the beach and stood together on the winner’s podium.

With the roar of thousands as the backdrop, Wilson and Peterson both hoisted their winning trophies into the air, giving those in the industry a reverberating message.

The future of professional surfing appears to be in pretty good hands.

andrew.john@latimes.com