Rising star Poeti Norac had moved to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast a few months ago.
The French Surfing Federation said: “The surfing community has lost a family member, a beautiful person with a radiant smile, an artist on her board and whose enthusiasm radiated in the Vendée and everywhere else.”
It also hailed her as an “outstanding educator” who “transmitted her passion for surfing and the ocean”.
Poeti, from the Vendée region, started surfing with her father Bruno aged six in the seaside town Les Sables d’Olonne.
She specialised in longboard surfing after switching from shortboard, and had been competing in the discipline for ten years.
A finallist four times in France’s national championships, she came second in 2018 and third in 2016.
She also won ten victories in the Coupe du France.
The circumstances of her death last Saturday were not immediately clear.
A ceremony will be held to celebrate her life soon, the federation said.
