Aussie heartache after cruellest blow
Having made the final at the last World Surf League event on the Gold Coast and riding some real momentum, Fitzgibbons, 34, needed a deep run in WA to avoid missing the mid-season cut for the third successive year and make the top-14 to be back next year.
When surfing resumed on Monday, Fitzgibbons charged out of the blocks against Bryan, the reigning champ at Margaret River, and was still leading as the pair latched on to waves in the final few minutes.
But just as victory looked within Fitzgibbons grasp, Bryan delivered the most powerful combination of their round of 16 showdown and a nine-point ride on her final wave to storm into the quarterfinals. Sally Fitzgibbons was denied in cruel fashion at Margaret River. (Photo by Cait Miers/World Surf League) Credit: Supplied
The abject despair was evident as Fitzgibbons lay on her board in the surf, her fate sealed, again, forcing the three-time world championship runner-up back to the qualification tour.
Only the top 10 surfers after Margaret River will continue the rest of the season, and only the top 14 are readmitted for 2026 to what will be an expanded women's field for the main tour.
Fitzgibbons dropped to 15th after and having been surfing in 'survivor mode' despite her good run on the Gold Coast, the exit of the 12-time tour winner, leaves only Molly Picklum, Isabella Nichols and two-time world champ Tyler Wright in the top 10 to chase a world title.
Both Picklum and Nichols progressed to the quarter-finals at Margaret River, but Wright was bundled out by Lakey Peterson, whose victory sealed Fitzgibbons' fate.
Wildcard Jacob Willcox is the only Aussie male still alive and will head to the quarter-finals.
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